Welcome to the last writing coaching for this season (if you want more videos/blogs/audios, patreon is available!). In today’s task 2, we’re going to go over giving reasons.
How do the words in each set 1-4 connect to each other?
- Deforestation –> soil erosion –> less food production
- Climate change –> unreliable rainfall –> poor crops
- War –> farming prevented –> imports and exports prevented
- Rising prices –> less available food –> starvation
Ready the sentences below and see if you understand the meaning of the words in italics.
- Eating wholefoods and natural produce is important for me. They are healthier than other foods.
- Intensive farming increases the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. I prefer to shop at a farmers’ market where the food is usually produced and organic.
- Genetically modified crops are crucial I think. They help to prevent starvation, producing much greater quantities of crops.
- Overgrazing and deforestation mean there is less land for food production. Farmers and landowners should be banned for allowing this.
- Developed countries should focus on solutions for climate change. This issue has a great impact on food production in developing countries.
Is the following task asking you to find solutions or evaluate a solution?
Some people believe that famine is caused by climate change and preventing this will stop famine. What is your view of this?
An essay which evaluated solutions often describes the proposed solution and looks at the disadvantages and the advantages.
Of course the impact of climate change can’t be underestimated in relation to famine. Climate change is, in itself, caused by many different factors including deforestation and polluted air. The deforestation problem leads to soil erosion. The polluted air problem increases temperatures. Deforestation and polluted air contribute to unpredictable rainfall patterns which damage crops and the quality of vegetation that grows, preventing steady food production in developing countries. Farmers in developing countries usually don’t have enough money for measures which will help counteract the effects, e.g. anti-flooding or irrigation methods. Consequently, preventing climate change would decrease climate changes unpredictable effects and therefore reduce famine. Agriculture planning would be easier as farmers would know what the likely seasonal changes would be. However, climate change is a vast problem and not a problem easily solved. The problem requires a global effort and huge investment, which is difficult to achieve quickly in the short term.
