The big idea: A stakeholder is any person, group or organisation with an interest in — and an influence on — what people eat and how healthy they are.
No single group decides this alone
- Governments
- Transnational corporations (TNCs)
- International organisations and NGOs
- Individuals
- They all pull in different directions, and act at different scales — from a global vaccination drive down to a family's weekly shop.
Know the limits too: Option F essays almost always ask you to weigh how much power each stakeholder really has — so you must know what each one does and its limits.
The four main stakeholder groups
- Governments — set laws, taxes, subsidies and food-safety rules, and run public-health campaigns (e.g. a sugar tax).
- TNCs / agribusiness — grow, process, price and advertise food worldwide; powerful but profit-driven (e.g. Nestle, supermarkets, fast food).
- IOs & NGOs — bodies like the WFP, FAO and WHO, and charities like Oxfam, give food aid and long-term help.
- Individuals & communities — make daily food choices, farm, run food banks; less power but the most direct control over their own diet.
Scale and power both matter: Stakeholders act at different scales — global (the WHO, agribusiness TNCs) and local (a town's food bank, a household).
A strong answer names the stakeholder, says what they do, gives a real example, and judges how much power they actually have compared with the others.
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How this is tested: A bar chart of stakeholder influence is a classic stimulus — read the key, then Describe which group dominates before you reason about it.
Where the marks come from
- Short Explain [4]/[6] answers — name an action, then develop it.
- They build up to the headline [10] markband essay on stakeholder power.
One global, one local: A frequent short question wants one global-scale and one local-scale action to manage a problem, so be ready with an example at each scale.
Read the key first. Which stakeholder bar is tallest in each region — and where do IOs & NGOs jump?
Interactive diagram
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Describe what the bar chart shows about the influence of stakeholders on diet.
Model answer plan
See the answer broken into clear points, with guidance on how each point earns marks.
Who shapes what we eat and how healthy we are
| Stakeholder | What they do | Real example |
|---|---|---|
| Governments | Laws, taxes, subsidies, food-safety rules, public health campaigns | India's 1960s Green Revolution subsidies; the UK sugar tax on soft drinks (2018) |
| TNCs / agribusiness | Grow, process, advertise and price food worldwide; shape diets for profit | Nestle and Coca-Cola marketing; supermarket chains; fast-food TNCs like McDonald's |
| IOs & NGOs | Emergency food aid, long-term development, research, setting global targets | The WFP and FAO; Oxfam and ActionAid; the WHO during disease outbreaks |
| Individuals & communities | Daily food choices, farming methods, local food banks, cultural diets | Local food banks; subsistence farmers in the Sahel; community health volunteers |
Answering an 'Explain' [4]
- Name the action and its scale (e.g. a global WHO vaccination drive).
- Give the mechanism — how it actually changes diet or health.
- Develop it with a real example or a second linked point. 2 marks per developed action.
Explain one global-scale action and one local-scale action that could help manage a health problem such as type-2 diabetes.
Model answer plan
See the answer broken into clear points, with guidance on how each point earns marks.
Always give the mechanism: Don't just name a stakeholder — explain how their action changes diet or health. Sugar tax -> sugary drinks cost more -> people buy fewer -> lower sugar intake -> less type-2 diabetes.
Know your predicted grade
Take timed mock exams and get detailed feedback on every answer. See exactly where you're losing marks.
Stakeholders show their power most clearly in a crisis — a famine, a disease outbreak, or a push to feed a growing population.
The same stakeholder can make things better or worse, which is exactly what the essays ask you to weigh.
Famine in the Sahel — governments and aid agencies: Recurrent drought across the Sahel (the dry belt south of the Sahara) has caused repeated famines. Governments and IOs/NGOs help by delivering emergency food (the WFP) and funding wells and drought-resistant seeds.
But aid can backfire: Weak governance, conflict and over-reliance on short-term food aid can deepen the crisis — aid can undercut local farmers' prices and create dependency rather than lasting food security.
Cholera in Haiti, 2010 — when a response backfires: After the 2010 earthquake, a cholera outbreak killed thousands in Haiti.
It shows the double edge of stakeholders: NGOs and the WHO ran treatment and clean-water programmes that saved lives, yet the outbreak itself was linked to poor sanitation around an aid base — a reminder that even well-meaning intervention can carry risks if it is poorly managed.
Malaria in sub-Saharan Africa
Malaria across sub-Saharan Africa is fought by a mix of stakeholders — the WHO and NGOs distribute treated bed-nets and medicines, while local health workers run prevention.
The Green Revolution in India
In 1960s India, the Green Revolution saw the government and agribusiness push high-yield seeds, fertiliser and irrigation — boosting food output hugely, but widening the gap between rich and poor farmers and harming soils.
Explain two drawbacks of a region depending on international aid to reduce the severity of a famine.
Model answer plan
See the answer broken into clear points, with guidance on how each point earns marks.
The same stakeholder can help OR harm: Top essays show two sides of a stakeholder: aid saves lives short-term but can create dependency long-term; agribusiness feeds millions but can widen inequality. Weighing this earns the higher markbands.
Gender roles in food and health
- Production — women grow much of the food in many low-income countries, yet often have less land, credit and training than men; the FAO estimates that giving women equal access to resources would raise farm yields significantly.
- Acquisition — women usually buy and prepare the family’s food and collect water and fuel, so their time and income shape the household’s diet.
- Health disparities — where women eat last or least, or need permission to visit a clinic, they suffer more anaemia and poorer maternal health; empowering women improves children’s nutrition.
How this is tested — the [10] essay: Option F's headline question is a [10]-mark Examine / To-what-extent / Evaluate essay, marked on markbands.
Recurring versions ask
- How far TNCs / agribusiness shape diets.
- How governments and aid agencies raise or lower famine severity.
- What IOs and NGOs do for food insecurity.
- How effective the solutions are.
Top band needs
- Accurate terms.
- Two or more developed stakeholders with named examples.
- A weighing of their relative power (and limits).
- A justified conclusion.
"Agribusiness transnational corporations are the most powerful influence on what and how people eat." To what extent do you agree?
Model answer plan
See the answer broken into clear points, with guidance on how each point earns marks.
Markband marks: (1) Develop two or more stakeholders, not one. (2) Anchor each to a named example (WFP, Oxfam, the Sahel, the UK sugar tax). (3) Weigh their relative power and limits, then finish on an explicit judgement that answers the command term.