Урок “The major problem to happen by 2050?”

                                    The lesson “The major problem to happen by 2050?”

Aims: to develop students' reading skills

to develop students' speaking skills

to develop students' logical thinking

to introduce new vocabulary on the topic

to broaden students' cultural knowledge

                                                             Procedure

1. Introduction

 Today we will talk about the most important problem of the future – food. 

1.1 Warmer

What problems can people face in the future? (Brainstorming)

1.2 Vocabulary work

 Guess the meaning of these words.

adverse [adj]: negative, unpleasant or harmful

arable [adj]: describing land suitable for growing crops

boost [v]: to help something increase, improve or become more successful

cope with [v]: to deal successfully with a difficult situation

crop [n]: a plant grown for food

devastating [adj]: causing a lot of harm or damage

drought [n]: a long period of time when there is little or no rain

fertiliser [n]: a natural or chemical substance added to soil to help crops grow

harvest [n]: the activity of collecting crops

insecticide [n]: a chemical for killing insects that damage crops

irrigation [n]: watering the land through a system of pipes, ditches, etc. to make crops grow

pest [n]: an insect or small animal that damages crops or food supplies

resistant [adj]: not harmed or affected by something

run out of [v]: to use all of something and not have any left

shelf [n]: used for talking about the goods that are available in shops

shortage [n]: a lack of something that you need or want

staple [adj]: describing an important food that people eat regularly

terrain [n]: an area of land

undernourishment [n]: not getting enough food

yield [n]: an amount of something that is produced

2 The main part

2.1 Reading

      What major change will most likely have happened in the world by 2050? Will the world run out of food one day?

      This is the BIG question and a major concern for the future. You probably can’t imagine not  having enough food to eat, or going to the supermarket and finding all the shelves empty. Food is always available if you want it and have the money to buy it, right? Well, what if this wasn’t the case?

     In the short term, things will probably be OK. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the number of hungry people worldwide has been falling for the past decade and undernourishment has also dropped from 18.6% 20 years ago to 10.9% today. But there are still nearly a billion undernourished people on the planet, just as there are still parts of the world where more than a third of the food produced is simply wasted. This can be due to lack of refrigeration and storage in developing nations, or purely because food is just not eaten, as in some developed countries.

    By 2050, the global population is almost certainly going to rise from seven billion to an estimated nine billion. Now that’s a lot of extra mouths to feed, and this is where things get urgent. The FAO predicts that food production needs to increase dramatically by at least 70% over the next 30 years to cope with this growth. There are other factors, too, which will only widen the gap between food supply and demand in the coming decades if nothing is done soon. For example:

   Global warming: Changes in our climate will mean more droughts in the future, making it more difficult to grow crops. This will lead to an increase in food prices.

   Crop diseases: Many pests are becoming resistant to insecticides, and climate change is bringing new diseases to crops as new species of pests appear. This is resulting in the loss of up to 25% of crops.

    Urbanisation: Using arable land to make way for building development will destroy valuable farming terrain.

    Water use: Agriculture accounts for 70% of the world’s water use and 550 billion litres are wasted in crop production each year. This waste will be greatly reduced if farmers use better methods of irrigation, as this could raise food production by around 60%. In brief, the world is trying to grow more food on less land with limited access to water while facing increased costs for essentials like fertiliser and fuel. So what is the solution? There are several practices in action to try and support a global food crisis. These include:

    Genetically-modified crops: Staple foods such as rice and corn are being developed to resist adverse weather like droughts and flooding.

     Technology: Farmers and food manufacturers in developing countries are at a disadvantage

and need more advanced equipment to deal with risks such as crop diseases, adverse weather and water shortage.

     Boosting crop yields: Better farming techniques can reduce food shortages, and educating farmers in the developing world to make better use of fertiliser and overused soil will help improve the quality and quantity of their harvest – farmers in China grow around seven times as much food on the same amount of land as a farmer in Africa, for example.

  Experts warn that we must take action now to improve the situation for the future, otherwise the consequences could be devastating.

2.2 Are these statements True or False?

1 The world will run out of food completely by 2050 unless farming techniques are improved. T / F

2 There has been a decrease in the number of people suffering from hunger worldwide since the early 2000s. T / F

3 Food waste on our planet is now at more than half of all food produced. T / F

4 One of the reasons why food production needs to increase is because of climate change.

T / F

5 Climate change is also causing an increase in crop diseases. T / F

6 Farmers will be paying less for basics like fertiliser and fuel in the future. T / F

7 Staple foods have been genetically modified for decades and are now steadily increasing food production. T / F

8 New developments in farming technology will help improve food production. T / F

2.3  What do these numbers in the text refer to?

1. 18.6

2. 550 billion

3. 60

4. x 7

5. 25

6. 9 billion

2.4 Work with a partner and discuss the questions.

1 Are there any particular foods that are produced in your country? Are the foods mainly for local consumption or are they exported? Do you know if there is enough of these foods produced or are there any food shortage problems?

2 What else do you think can be done to ensure there is enough food for everyone in the future?

3. Summing – up

3.1. Home assignment

Prepare a talk on the ways of increasing food production. 

3.2. Reflection

     What have you learned today? What did (didn’t) you like? Thank you for your work. You have worked hard. I’m satisfied with your work. See you!

The keys:

2.2 1 F 2 T 3 F 4 T 5 T 6 F 7 F 8 T

2.3

1 percentage of undernourished people in the world 20 years ago

2 litres of water wasted in crop production each year

3 percentage by which better methods of irrigation could raise food production

4 farmers in China grow this much more on the same amount of land than farmers in Africa

5 percentage of crop loss from diseases

6 estimated world population by 2050