Why is "Treating Green Revolution as only positive" a common mistake in Global Food Supply, Demand and Globalisation?

Why it happens: It averted famine. How to avoid it: Mark scheme rewards BALANCED treatment — environmental costs, inequality, dependence on inputs. Source: 0460 Examiner Reports 2022-2024

Why is "Confusing agribusiness with all commercial farming" a common mistake in Global Food Supply, Demand and Globalisation?

Why it happens: Both sell for profit. How to avoid it: Agribusiness = INDUSTRIAL SCALE corporate, vertically integrated. A family-owned commercial farm is not agribusiness. Source: 0460 Examiner Reports 2022-2024

Resource ProvisionCambridge IGCSE Geography (0460)

Global Food Supply, Demand and Globalisation

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Global Food Supply, Demand and Globalisation Study Notes — Cambridge IGCSE Geography 0460 (2024-2026 syllabus)

Green Revolution. Agribusiness. Global food chains. Why food security has improved on average but unevenly.

What you’ll learn

Mapped to the Cambridge IGCSE 0460 syllabus (2024-2026).

10.2.1 — Describe the Green Revolution.
10.2.2 — Define agribusiness.
10.2.3 — Explain globalisation of food.

Green Revolution

Yield revolution since 1960s.

Mid-20th century transformation. High-yield varieties (HYVs) of wheat and rice, with fertiliser, pesticides, irrigation, mechanisation.

Leaders. Norman Borlaug — dwarf wheat for India and Mexico. IR8 rice for the Philippines. Adopted across India, Pakistan, China, Mexico from 1960s-80s.

Positives. Yields 2-3x; India went from wheat importer to exporter. Famine averted. Food prices fell. Population growth sustained.

Negatives. Environmental — fertiliser/pesticide pollution; salinisation from over-irrigation. Inequality — large farmers benefited more. Dependence on inputs (and rising oil prices).

Cambridge tip. Mark scheme rewards BALANCED treatment.

HYVs + inputs + irrigation.
Yields 2-3x.
Environmental and equity costs.

See the full worked example for global food supply, demand and globalisation →

Agribusiness

Industrial-scale corporate farming.

Definition. Large-scale corporate farming — vertically integrated from production through processing, distribution and retail.

Features.

Monoculture. Single crop over vast areas.
Mechanisation. Large tractors, combine harvesters.
Chemical inputs. Fertiliser, pesticides, herbicides.
GM crops. Drought-resistant, pest-resistant varieties.
Vertical integration. Same company owns farms, processing, distribution.

Examples. Cargill, ADM, Monsanto (now Bayer), Tyson Foods. Dominate US grain, beef, poultry.

Advantages. Economies of scale → cheap food. Consistent quality.

Disadvantages. Environmental — monoculture, pesticides, water use. Small farmers driven out → rural depopulation. Concentration of market power.

Cambridge tip. Mark scheme rewards BOTH advantages and disadvantages.

Industrial-scale corporate.
Cheap and consistent.
Environmental and social costs.

See the full worked example for global food supply, demand and globalisation →

Globalisation of food

Year-round, TNC-driven.

Year-round availability. Supermarkets import counter-seasonally — UK strawberries from Kenya in winter, asparagus from Peru.

TNC supply chains. Tesco, Walmart, Carrefour source globally. Coffee from Ethiopia, bananas from Costa Rica, soy from Brazil.

Trade liberalisation. WTO cut tariffs (slowly — agricultural tariffs still high). Allowed integrated global markets.

Food miles. Modern food travels thousands of km. Carbon-intensive. But productive — counterintuitively, sometimes lower-carbon than local because of energy efficiencies abroad.

Cambridge tip. Mark scheme rewards SPECIFIC examples of imported food.

Year-round availability.
TNC supply chains.
Trade liberalisation.
Food miles tradeoffs.

See the full worked example for global food supply, demand and globalisation →

How it’s examined

Food globalisation popular on Paper 2. Most-tested: Green Revolution (8 marks), agribusiness (6 marks), global supply (6 marks).

Sources: Cambridge IGCSE Geography 0460 syllabus (2024-2026); 0460 Examiner Reports 2022-2024; 0460/22 Oct/Nov 2024 question paper and mark scheme. Last reviewed 2026-05-10.

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Step-by-step worked examples — Global Food Supply, Demand and Globalisation

Step-by-step solutions to past-paper-style questions on global food supply, demand and globalisation, written exactly the way a tutor would explain them at the board.

1Green Revolution (8 marks)
Extended• Adapted from 0460/22 Oct/Nov 2024• green revolution
Question
Define the Green Revolution. Explain THREE positive AND ONE negative impact. (8 marks)
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  Definition (2 marks). Mid-20th century agricultural transformation in developing countries — high-yield seeds, fertiliser, pesticides, irrigation, mechanisation. India, Pakistan, Mexico.
2. Step 2
  Positive 1 (2 marks). Yields rose 2-3x — India went from wheat importer to exporter. Famine averted.
3. Step 3
  Positive 2 (2 marks). Poverty reduction — small farmers' incomes rose; food prices fell.
4. Step 4
  Positive 3 (1 mark). Population sustained — supported India's population doubling 1960-2000.
5. Step 5
  Negative 1 (1 mark). Environmental — heavy fertiliser/pesticide use degraded soils, polluted water; irrigation led to salinisation.
6. Step 6
  Bonus. Widened inequality — large farmers benefited more than small.
Answer
Green Revolution = high-yield + inputs. Positive: yields, poverty cut, population fed. Negative: environmental degradation.
2Agribusiness (6 marks)
Extended• agribusiness
Question
Define agribusiness. Identify TWO advantages and TWO disadvantages. (6 marks)
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  Definition (2 marks). Large-scale industrial farming — corporate-run, vertically integrated (production, processing, distribution, retail).
2. Step 2
  Advantage 1 (1 mark). Economies of scale — cheaper food.
3. Step 3
  Advantage 2 (1 mark). Consistent quality — standards enforced.
4. Step 4
  Disadvantage 1 (1 mark). Environmental — monoculture, pesticides, water use.
5. Step 5
  Disadvantage 2 (1 mark). Small farmers driven out — rural depopulation.
Answer
Agribusiness = industrial-scale corporate farming. Cheap and consistent but environmentally and socially costly.
3Globalisation of food supply (6 marks)
Extended• food globalisation
Question
Explain THREE ways food supply has globalised. (6 marks)
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  Year-round availability (2 marks). Supermarkets stock fresh produce year-round by importing from southern hemisphere counter-seasonally. UK strawberries from Kenya in winter.
2. Step 2
  TNC food chains (2 marks). Tesco, Walmart, Carrefour source globally — TNCs control supply chains. Coffee from Ethiopia, bananas from Costa Rica, soy from Brazil.
3. Step 3
  Trade liberalisation (2 marks). WTO reduced agricultural tariffs (slowly — still high). Allowed integrated global markets, with major exporters (USA, Brazil, EU).
Answer
Year-round availability + TNC supply chains + trade liberalisation = globalised food supply.

Key Definitions and Keywords — Global Food Supply, Demand and Globalisation

Definitions to memorise and the exact keywords mark schemes credit for global food supply, demand and globalisation answers — sharpened from recent examiner reports for the 2026 0460 sitting.

Green Revolution
Examiner keyword
Mid-20th-century agricultural transformation in developing countries — HYV seeds, fertiliser, pesticides, irrigation. India led the way.
HYV (High-Yield Variety)
Examiner keyword
Crop varieties bred to produce more per hectare. IR8 rice, dwarf wheat. Foundation of the Green Revolution.
Agribusiness
Examiner keyword
Large-scale industrial corporate farming — vertically integrated from production through retail.
Monoculture
Examiner keyword
Growing a single crop on large areas year after year. Common in agribusiness. Vulnerable to disease.
Food miles
Distance food travels from producer to consumer. Globalised food = high food miles.
Salinisation
Buildup of salt in soil — often caused by over-irrigation. Renders land unusable.

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions — Global Food Supply, Demand and Globalisation

The traps other students keep falling into on global food supply, demand and globalisation questions — taken from recent Cambridge IGCSE 0460 examiner reports and mark schemes — and how to avoid them.

✕Treating Green Revolution as only positive
0460 Examiner Reports 2022-2024
Why it happens
It averted famine.
How to avoid it
Mark scheme rewards BALANCED treatment — environmental costs, inequality, dependence on inputs.
✕Confusing agribusiness with all commercial farming
0460 Examiner Reports 2022-2024
Why it happens
Both sell for profit.
How to avoid it
Agribusiness = INDUSTRIAL SCALE corporate, vertically integrated. A family-owned commercial farm is not agribusiness.

Practice questions

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Global Food Supply, Demand and Globalisation

Short Study Notes in the form of Slides

Detailed Study Notes

What you’ll learn

How it’s examined

1Green Revolution (8 marks)

2Agribusiness (6 marks)

3Globalisation of food supply (6 marks)

Green Revolution

HYV (High-Yield Variety)

Agribusiness

Monoculture

Food miles

Salinisation

✕Treating Green Revolution as only positive

✕Confusing agribusiness with all commercial farming

Practice questions

Past paper style quiz

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