Food Sustainability

What Food Sustainability covers

Food Sustainability is examined in Unit A2 1 Option A, Food Security and Sustainability — one of two options. It covers animal farming, climate change and natural resources, local and seasonal food, organic farming and the environment, Fairtrade and producer countries, red Tractor, NI Beef and Lamb, LEAF and Conservation Grade and carbon labels, Rainforest Alliance, MSC and green claims.

The 6 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Animal farming, climate change and natural resourcesMethane and nitrous oxide from livestock, Northern Ireland's agricultural emissions, water footprints, slurry and Lough Neagh, ammonia, welfare and ways to cut impact.Open →
• Local and seasonal foodLocal and seasonal food, food miles and their limits, Northern Ireland's protected foods, farmers' markets, and the benefits of local food to the economy and tourism.Open →
• Organic farming and the environmentHow organic farms maintain soil and control pests, benefits for wildlife, soil and water, animal welfare, labelling, cost and criticisms of organic farming.Open →
• Fairtrade and producer countriesThe FAIRTRADE Mark, Minimum Price and Premium, labour and environmental standards, benefits to producer economies and criticisms of Fairtrade.Open →
• Red Tractor, NI Beef and Lamb, LEAF and Conservation GradeFarm assurance, the Northern Ireland Beef and Lamb Farm Quality Assurance Scheme, Red Tractor, the LEAF Marque and Integrated Farm Management, and Conservation Grade.Open →
• Carbon labels, Rainforest Alliance, MSC and green claimsCarbon footprint labels, the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ, the Marine Stewardship Council, greenwashing, the Green Claims Code and misleading environmental claims.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Food Sustainability further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Fairtrade Minimum Price vs Fairtrade Premium

  Fairtrade Minimum Price: a guaranteed floor paid for a certified crop when world markets fall. Fairtrade Premium: an extra sum paid on top of the sale and spent democratically on community projects.

• Food miles vs Carbon footprint

  Food miles: the distance a product travels from where it is produced to the consumer. Carbon footprint: total greenhouse gas emissions caused by a product across its whole life cycle.

• Red Tractor vs LEAF Marque

  Red Tractor: the UK's largest assurance scheme checking safety, traceability and welfare to a baseline. LEAF Marque: an environmental certification for produce from farms using Integrated Farm Management.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   How much of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions comes from livestock?

   Model answer

   The FAO estimated in 2013 that livestock supply chains produce about 14.5% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Beef and dairy cattle account for most of this share.

2. 2

   Explain how cattle and sheep produce methane.

   Model answer

   Cattle and sheep are ruminants, and microbes in the rumen ferment grass and release methane. The animals belch the methane out as they digest.

3. 3

   Why is methane from livestock a particular concern for climate change?

   Model answer

   Methane traps far more heat than carbon dioxide in the decades after it is released. Cuts in methane therefore slow warming quickly.

4. 4

   How does animal farming produce nitrous oxide?

   Model answer

   Nitrous oxide is released from manure, slurry and the nitrogen fertiliser spread on grassland. Nitrous oxide is a far more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

5. 5

   What share of Northern Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions comes from agriculture?

   Model answer

   Agriculture produced 31.4% of Northern Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions in 2024, more than any other sector. The figure comes from DAERA's greenhouse gas inventory.

6. 6

   Why is agriculture's share of emissions so high in Northern Ireland?

   Model answer

   Northern Ireland has a large grass-based beef, dairy and sheep sector for the size of its population. Livestock methane and nitrous oxide therefore make up a large part of its emissions.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Food Sustainability revision questions

What does Food Sustainability cover in CCEA A-Level Nutrition and Food Science?

6 subtopics: animal farming, climate change and natural resources, local and seasonal food, organic farming and the environment, fairtrade and producer countries, red tractor, ni beef and lamb, leaf and conservation grade and carbon labels, rainforest alliance, msc and green claims. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Food Sustainability organised?

By the CCEA 3310 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.