Open Up - Grade 8 - ELA - Module 2 - Mid Unit 2 Assessment

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4 Questions

Directions: Answer the research question using the steps outlined below. (RI.8.1, RI.8.10, W.8.7, W.8.8)

Research Question: How might climate change contribute to a food shortage?

What are two internet search terms you can use for this question? (W.8.8)

W.8.8

Of the related questions below, circle the two that would be most useful in helping you answer the research question. (W.8.7)

W.8.7

Directions: Read the following text, and then research answers for the research question using an online search engine. Complete the note-catcher to capture your research notes. Be sure to include at least three sources, including the text below. (W.8.7, W.8.8)

A Shock to the Food System

Bad weather in many parts of the world at once could limit the global food supply

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Feeding the world’s population is a big challenge, and it’s about to get bigger. Right now, a little more than 7.3 billion people share the planet. Most nights, many go to bed hungry. By 2050, some scientists estimate, the world’s population may reach 9 billion. Earth’s changing climate will probably make feeding this far greater number a very daunting task. That was the conclusion of several scientists here, February 12, at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Just three crops—wheat, rice and maize (commonly known as corn)—provide more than two-thirds of the calories that people consume. Such cereals, and a small number of other important crops, come from farming regions sometimes referred to as “breadbaskets.” These fertile areas often occupy relatively small portions of the globe, says Tim Benton. He works at the University of Leeds in England. As a population ecologist, he studies how changes in the environment influence such things as the numbers of species in an ecosystem.

The relatively small size of the world’s breadbaskets can make them vulnerable to bad weather, says Benton. Events such as widespread flooding or extended heat waves can be devastating. That’s especially true if the bad weather occurs when a crop is young, fruiting or approaching harvest.

Worse than bad weather in one of these areas would be crop-crippling weather in two or more, says Joshua Elliott. He’s an environmental scientist at the Computation Institute in Chicago, Ill. (This is a program of the University of Chicago and nearby Argonne National Laboratory.) Elliott is an expert in using computer models to simulate the effects of weather and climate change.

Big crop failures in two or more breadbaskets could lead to what researchers call a “food shock,” he notes. An overall shortage of food might result. Afterward, some nations would likely restrict the sale to other countries of some foods that are now in short supply. And this could quickly worsen the effects of the food shortage, says Elliott, as many nations had to find new sources of these crops.

Extreme food shocks used to happen perhaps once every century. Put another way, that’s only about once in every four generations of people. But climate change is boosting the risk that new food shocks will emerge, Elliott notes. Many studies suggest that as the climate warms, high and low temperatures will become more extreme. Also, weather may become more variable from one year to the next. That would make it more difficult for farmers. They depend on predictable temperatures and rainfall.

Some climate studies now predict that by 2050, food shocks could occur about once every 30 years. In other words, a person born in the middle of the current century might live through two or three extreme food shocks during their lifetime. By comparison, someone born in 1950 would have seen one or none.

So what can people do to help avoid food shocks? Making agriculture more efficient is one option, says Elliott. Another possibility: Governments could relax rules that earmark certain amounts of corn for biofuel. Then, in times of food shortage, more corn could end up in someone’s belly rather than a vehicle’s gas tank.

But one of the most effective ways to combat food shocks might be to cut down on food waste, said Seth Cook. He’s an environmental scientist at the International Institute for Environment and Development in London, England. More than one-third of the world’s crop harvest is lost each year, Cook reported at the meeting. In developing countries, a lot of food spoils due to a lack of refrigeration. In other instances, insects or rodents may eat grains while they are in storage.

And in industrial nations, people often feel they need to throw away food because it doesn’t look good. Others toss what has passed the “sell by” date stamped on a container. In both cases, the food might be perfectly edible, notes Cook.

“If we could cut food waste in half,” Cook argues, “we could feed an extra billion people.”

Source: Perkins, Sid. “A Shock to the Food System.” Science News for Students, 13 Feb. 2016. Used with permission.

Which of the following best explains the meaning of breadbaskets in the second paragraph? (RI.8.4)

RL.8.4

Research Question: How might climate change contribute to a food shortage?

Source: Open Up Resouces (Download for free at openupresources.org.)