OCR A-Level Geography Geographical debates (03), June 2025: Question 18
33 marks · Hard difficulty · Extended Response
To what extent is food security of global significance?
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Question text
To what extent is food security of global significance? [33]
Mark scheme
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Question Answer Mark Guidance
To what extent is food security of global significance? 33 Indicative content
AO1 x9
AO1 AO2 x24 AO1 – 9 marks
Level 4 (7–9 marks) Demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the global
Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge and understanding significance of food security could potentially include:
of the global significance of food security. • Food security is the consumption of adequate and good
quality foods that make up a healthy diet.
Level 3 (5–6 marks) • Patterns of food security
Demonstrates thorough knowledge and understanding of the • Food security – the result of physical and human factors
global significance of food security. e.g. relief, climate, soils, technology, capital, labour.
• Interconnected system of food production e.g. growing,
Level 2 (3–4 marks) processing, transporting, disposing.
Demonstrates reasonable knowledge and understanding of the • Variety of food production methods
global significance of food security.
• Influence of globalisation, geopolitics, climate change.
Level 1 (1–2 marks)
AO2 – 24 marks
Demonstrates basic knowledge and understanding of the global
Application of knowledge and understanding to analyse and
significance of food security.
evaluate the extent to which food security is of global
significance could potentially include:
0 marks
No response or no response worthy of credit. • globalisation of food industry e.g. sharing of
technological ideas, TNCs, food aid / relief, demand for
AO2 global / unseasonal foods
Level 4 (19–24 marks) • patterns for food security dynamic and varies between
Demonstrates comprehensive application of knowledge and and within countries.
understanding to provide a clear, developed and convincing • interrelated e.g. growing conditions in Caribbean affect
analysis that is fully accurate of the extent to which food security supply in UK, transport affects number of countries –
is of global significance. source, destination, and countries / borders / crossings
along journey e.g. pinch-points.
Demonstrates comprehensive application of knowledge and • Variation of impact of food security at varying levels of
understanding to provide a detailed and substantiated development.
evaluation that offers secure judgements leading to rational • Variation of significance at a variety of scales –
conclusions that are evidence based as to the extent to which local/national/international.
food security is of global significance. • Variation of calorie intake, health impact spatially,
causes and impacts.
Relevant concepts are authoritatively discussed.
Level 3 (13–18 marks) Mark Scheme June 2025
Demonstrates thorough application of knowledge and
understanding to provide a clear and developed analysis that
shows accuracy of the extent to which food security is of global47
significance.
Demonstrates thorough application of knowledge and
understanding to provide a detailed evaluation that offers
generally secure judgements, with some link between rational
conclusions as to the extent to which food security is of global
significance.
Relevant concepts are discussed but this may lack some
authority.
Level 2 (7–12 marks)
Demonstrates reasonable application of knowledge and
understanding to provide a sound analysis that shows some
accuracy of the extent to which food security is of global
significance.
Demonstrates reasonable application of knowledge and
understanding to provide a sound evaluation that offers
generalised judgements and conclusions, with limited use of
evidence as to the extent to which food security is of global
significance.
Concepts are discussed but their use lacks precision.
Level 1 (1–6 marks)
Demonstrates basic application of knowledge and
understanding to provide a simple analysis that shows limited
accuracy of the extent to which food security is of global
significance.
Demonstrates basic application of knowledge and
understanding to provide an un-supported evaluation that offers
simple conclusions as to the extent to which food security is of
global significance.
Concepts are not discussed or are so inaccurately. Mark Scheme June 2025
0 marks
No response or no response worthy of credit. 48
Quality of extended response Level 4
There is a well-developed line of reasoning which is clear and
logically structured. The information presented is relevant and
substantiated.
Level 3
There is a line of reasoning presented with some structure. The
information presented is in the most-part relevant and supported
by some evidence.
Level 2
The information has some relevance and is presented with
limited structure. The information is supported by limited
evidence.
Level 1
The information is basic and communicated in an unstructured
way. The information is supported by limited evidence and the
relationship to the evidence may not be clear.
How to answer it
Question 18*: Global Significance of Food Security
What This Question Tests
This 33-mark extended essay assesses your ability to synthesise the Global Food Program topic across multiple spatial scales, evaluating whether food security operates primarily as a systemic global issue or manifests as uneven regional, national, and local challenges.
- AO1 (9 Marks): Depth, accuracy, and breadth of factual knowledge regarding the definition of food security (FAO pillars), global patterns of hunger/nutrition, food production systems, supply chains, and compounding pressures (climate change, geopolitics, population growth).
- AO2 (24 Marks): Quality of analysis and evaluative judgement. Interrogating the phrase "to what extent" by balancing the borderless, highly globalised nature of modern food systems against localized environmental vulnerabilities, socio-economic disparities, and national food sovereignty.
- Extended Response Quality: Sustained logical structuring, authoritative geographic terminology, and supported real-world case evidence.
Question 18* • Breakdown & Mark Allocation [33 Marks]
Full Question: "To what extent is food security of global significance?"
💡 Key Knowledge (AO1 Essentials)
- FAO Definition (4 Pillars): Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food (Availability, Access, Utilisation, Stability).
- Interconnected Food Systems: Linear and complex global value chains involving inputs, farming/agribusiness, processing, global logistics/distribution, retail, and waste disposal.
- Physical Determinants: Biome suitability, precipitation patterns, soil quality, topography, water availability, and climate change shocks (e.g. desertification in the Sahel, ENSO cycles).
- Human & Geopolitical Drivers: Agribusiness TNC dominance (e.g. Cargill, Bayer), land grabbing, agricultural trade policy, conflict disruptions, and bio-fuel competition.
🧠 Exam Technique: Unpacking "Global Significance"
- Define the Criteria: What makes an issue "globally significant"? Is it geographic reach across borders, economic disruption to world trade, systemic geopolitical instability, or universal human rights?
- Deconstruct the Extent:
- High Extent: Interlinked global supply chains, international trade reliance, climate change tipping points, global grain corridors.
- Moderate / Differentiated Extent: The severity is profoundly unequal; HICs experience price inflation and dietary lifestyle shifts, while LICs face acute starvation and mortality.
- Maintain Synopticity: Connect physical environmental limits with economic globalisation, geopolitics, and demographics.
✅ Model Essay Structure & Arguments (Targeting Level 4: 28–33 Marks)
A top-tier essay should balance arguments supporting ubiquitous global significance against arguments showing that food security is fragmented by scale, wealth, and local geography.
Argument 1: Transnational Interdependence (High Global Significance)
Point: Food security is inherently global because food supply chains are hyper-globalised, relying on distant production hubs and vulnerable geopolitical transit pinch-points.
Evidence: Over 80% of the world's population lives in countries that are net food importers. The Russia-Ukraine war disrupted roughly 30% of global wheat and sunflower oil exports, triggering rapid price spikes across North Africa (e.g. Egypt) and the Middle East. Choke points like the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and Suez Canal demonstrate how localized conflict impacts international food access.
Evaluation: A localized crop failure or geopolitical dispute is no longer isolated; it immediately propagates into a systemic global shock.
Argument 2: Planetary Environmental Drivers (High Global Significance)
Point: Anthropogenic climate change and biophysical degradation threaten food security across universal planetary boundaries.
Evidence: Shifting Hadley cells, rising global mean temperatures, retreating glacial meltwater in the Himalayas (affecting agriculture across the Indus and Ganges basins), and extreme El Niño events disrupt yields on every inhabited continent simultaneously.
Evaluation: While emissions originate disproportionately from industrialised states, the resulting climate shocks undermine the fundamental ecological base of global agriculture, making collective mitigation an existential worldwide concern.
Argument 3: The Development Paradox & Divergent Scales (Counter-Balance)
Point: While food flows are global, the lived experience and severity of food insecurity are deeply uneven, determined primarily by national wealth and local governance.
Evidence: In HICs (e.g. UK), food insecurity is an economic access issue (manifesting in cost-of-living crises, food bank usage, and nutrient-poor, calorie-dense diets linked to obesity). In contrast, in conflict-afflicted LICs (e.g. South Sudan, Yemen, Somalia), food insecurity is an availability and survival crisis causing acute famine and stunting.
Evaluation: Significance is not uniform. For HICs, food security is an economic nuisance buffered by safety nets and global buying power; for LICs, it represents an existential barrier to human development.
Argument 4: National Sovereignty & Local Resilience (Counter-Balance)
Point: Food security can be decoupled from global reliance through national policy, protectionism, and localized agroecology.
Evidence: Countries with high self-sufficiency or aggressive strategic stockpiling (e.g. Singapore's "30 by 30" plan, domestic grain reserves in China) mitigate global supply vulnerability. Smallholder permaculture, urban vertical farming, and regional food hubs operate independently of multinational commodity traders.
Evaluation: This demonstrates that the significance of food security can be mitigated at the local and state level through proactive policy, refuting the idea that nations are entirely at the mercy of global forces.
📐 Comparative Significance Matrix across Scales
Use this matrix to structure comparative analysis throughout your body paragraphs:
| Scale | Primary Drivers | Manifestation of Food Insecurity | Evaluative Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global | TNC agribusiness monopolies, WTO free-trade agreements, planetary climate change. | Global price spikes, trade route bottlenecks, international food aid deficits. | Very High: Shapes global geopolitics, international humanitarian agendas, and migration flows. |
| National / Regional | National agricultural subsidies (e.g. CAP in Europe), conflict, strategic reserves, currency stability. | Sovereignty debates, rural-to-urban drift, civil unrest (e.g. Arab Spring food riots). | High: Dictates political stability, economic growth, and public health spending. |
| Local / Household | Poverty, food deserts, lack of refrigeration/storage, subsistence crop pests. | The "dual burden" (wasting/stunting vs obesity), reliance on community food aid. | Critical: Where the physical reality of malnutrition directly determines life expectancy and cognitive development. |
❌ Common Errors That Cap Marks
- Pure Description of Famines: Writing narrative descriptions of starvation in the Horn of Africa without evaluating global trade linkages or geopolitical drivers.
- Confusing Food Production with Food Security: Assuming that producing enough calories globally automatically guarantees food security, completely ignoring physical and economic access.
- One-Sided Arguments: Answering "yes, it is completely global" without exploring how national wealth, local agricultural traditions, and regional protectionism cushion impacts.
- Treating Developing Nations as a Monolith: Failing to differentiate between fast-growing emerging economies (e.g. India, Brazil) and fragile, conflict-ridden LICs.
💡 Top-Grade Examiner Insights (Reaching Level 4)
- Nuanced Synthesis of the FAO Definition: Top candidates explicitly evaluate which pillar of food security is compromised (e.g. stability compromised by geopolitical wars, access compromised by inflationary spikes).
- Spatial Multi-Scale Analysis: Seamlessly transitioning between global choke points (e.g. Strait of Malacca, Suez) down to local urban food deserts in the UK or USA.
- Definitive Final Judgement: Providing a justified conclusion that food security is intrinsically global in its causes and structural mechanics (due to globalised trade and climate systems), but profoundly uneven and localized in its human impacts.
Topics
Topic 3.4 Future of Food · 1.a. The concept of food security is complex and patterns of food security varies spatially. · 1.b. Food is a precious resource and global food production can be viewed as an interconnected system. · 1.c. Globalisation is changing the food industry. · 2.a. A number of interrelated factors can influence food security. · 3.a. Risks to food security can be identified to highlight the most vulnerable societies. · 4.a. Imbalance in the global food system has physical and human impacts. · 5.a. Food is a geopolitical commodity; a number of key players will continue to influence the global food system.
Question and mark scheme from the OCR A-Level Geography examination, Geographical debates (03), June 2025. QuestionVault is an independent revision resource; questions remain the copyright of the awarding body.