Food Insecurity In North Korea Essay

North Korean Food Insecurity

Map of North Korea. Geology.com, 2017

Max Robbins

Mr. Scally

September 7th, 2017

Geography

Table of Contents

Introduction

3

Background Information

4

How Climate Affects Food Security

5

Food Shortages in North Korea

6

Government Involvement

7

Solutions

8

Conclusion

9

Bibliography

10

Introduction

North Korean food insecurity is caused by climate patterns, poor soil quality, and small amounts of arable land. Little of North Korea’s land is suitable for growing crops, and the unfavorable climate conditions result in the inability for much of the population to grow their own food. Food insecurity in North Korea is also a result of the country’s high defense spending, as well as a poor government. In order to solve food insecurity, potatoes could be grown instead of rice, and this would be beneficial because potatoes are much more resilient to environmental shock, and provide much more nutritional value. Another less likely solution would be to introduce genetically modified rice. This would mean that much less rice would be lost due to summer flooding.

Map of East Asia. Google Maps, 2017

Background Information

Location

Eastern Asia, the northern half of the

North Korea’s main crop is rice, however potatoes are becoming more popular as another food source. A major portion of the country is rough mountain terrain, and only about 17% of the total landmass is arable. The weather in North Korea varies according to elevation, and infertile soil, along with a lack of precipitation, makes land at elevations higher than 400 meters unsuitable for purposes other than grazing. Precipitation is geographically and seasonally irregular, and in most parts of the country, almost 2 thirds of the average annual rainfall occurs in the three summer months, resulting in flooding and making farming more