global perspective model essay

• No category

0457 Example Candidate Responses Paper 2 (for examination from 2018)

Add this document to collection(s)

You can add this document to your study collection(s)

Add this document to saved

You can add this document to your saved list

Suggest us how to improve StudyLib

(For complaints, use another form )

Input it if you want to receive answer

9239 Global Perspectives & Research Team Project (2021)

Topic outline.

• Introduction
• Assessment criteria
• Presentation
• Reflective Paper

The main aim of this resource is to exemplify standards of the Cambridge International AS & A Level Global Perspectives & Research, Component 3 Team Project, and show how different levels of candidates' performance relate to the subject's curriculum and assessment objectives. 

Candidate responses have been selected from four Cambridge centres from the November 2021 series to exemplify a range of candidate responses across the presentation and reflective paper. All candidates seen in the recordings of the live presentations were contacted and permissions provided to use the videos from their Team Project submission. 

The candidate responses are followed by examiner comments on how and why marks were awarded so that you can understand what candidates have done to gain their marks and what they could do to improve. The examiner comments also helps teachers to assess the standard required to achieve marks beyond the guidance of the mark scheme and the syllabus. There is also a list of common mistakes. 

• Presentation (25 marks)

• Reflective Paper (10 marks) 

Now that you have read the assessment criteria, you may want to practise marking the presentations and reflective papers . Watch each candidate's presentation, making a note of the strengths and weaknesses and give a mark, before you read the examiner comments and marks below. Complete the same task for each reflective paper candidate response.

We want to give you a small explanation of why we choose poverty as a subject. The 3 of us do not suffer from the effects of poverty, however, others do. And with the ongoing pandemic, people tend to forget other problems like Poverty. And that is why we wanted to talk about it, to make sure people understand that it is still an ongoing problem and that it has gotten worse the past year!

Poverty, what is poverty? How can we describe poverty from an economic perspective? Poverty in the eyes of economists is a state in which a person, a community or a neighbourhood lacks the financial resources to achieve a minimum standard of living. So, poverty means that the level of income of a person or a group of people is below a certain threshold. This threshold is so low that basic human needs can just be met. Receiving income that is below this threshold is considered living in poverty. The effects of living in poverty can be horrendous, people living without proper housing, clothing struggling to be able to eat healthy food or drink water every day. Although poverty seems to be a worldwide problem concerning millions of people around the world, poverty is also different in a lot of countries. because the threshold that determines whether someone is poor or not can differ per country. However, the IPL international poverty line has been set at $1.90 per day. Global estimates are that around 689 million people live in absolute poverty right now.

Let's start with a local view of Poverty.

In Maastricht, around 8.2% of the inhabitants live in poverty. We have a place in the top 10 municipalities with the highest number of habitants living in poverty. When compared with the averages of the Netherlands as a country we have a higher average of people living in poverty in Maastricht, which shocked me. I was under the impression that Maastricht would score 'better' on this list. And that is another problem with poverty.

You can not always tell when someone lives in this state of poverty. People tend to not talk about it and sink into an even deeper hole without trying to get help for the situation they are in. This can make the situation for people in poverty even worse. if you get to the point where you live in poverty the smart thing to do is get help for your financial situation. let people know what you are undergoing and get help. In the Netherlands, we have certain safeguards in place where you can explain your situation and get help from financial advisors. They will help you to limit your expenses and will try to help you pay off your debt if that is applicable.

Even with this available help people still live in poverty. In the Netherlands, about 6.2% of the population lives in poverty. With a poverty threshold of €1090 per month which almost a million people don't pass. This seems rather alarming, however, it is an improvement when compared with the numbers from several years ago. In 2013 7.4% of our population was living in poverty! So we are making small progress on the national level.

So there is a slight improvement, however, are we going to keep that up or even improve the situation faster? I think we can keep the progress up. On a global level, people have been hit hard financially by the lockdown. Businesses had to close down and people have been struggling financially. However, with the election in the Netherlands promises of improvement and support for those who need it have started to arise.

When we take a look at Maastricht once again, we can see that people are fighting for change. 6 of the political parties have agreed to a program in which they will get 50 households who live in poverty and have extensive debts, a financial plan and a guide to slowly get their lives back on track. Furthermore, before the year is out they want to make a plan to attack the poverty in and around Maastricht.

On a national level, things are starting to change as well. Food Banks are starting programs to support the people who need to get their food at the food banks. An example of this support is the 10 point plan created by a food bank in Groningen. This foodbank helps its 'customers' with a 10 point plan attack on poverty. Some examples are:

1. Only buy things you can afford!

2. Getting help when in a big debt has to become faster, right now it can take up to 4 months to get people to listen to your story.

3. Trying to remove the own risk of health care for people who live in poverty.

when looking at the biggest picture, international poverty, I am not sure if we are going the right way. at least we should be able to do better. because of the differences between countries on poverty we do not have a clear view of the real numbers. We do have estimates of absolute poverty, the $1.90 a day, and from those numbers we can conclude that we must do better.

There are some great ideas and initiatives out there to help reduce poverty around the world. For example: Improving the transition from school to work of the vulnerable work population. And implementing policy measures to reduce household debt and vulnerability to housing price changes.

Another great idea is to create a worldwide organisation that makes a centralised policy around poverty and the battle against poverty. Another thing that would help would be to make sure people are warned about the risks of borrowing money. There are some regulations around these risks already however we could improve them, make sure that vulnerable people can not miss the warnings, maybe even make it harder for them to borrow money because it will eventually put them in even more debt and make them even poorer. And lastly, we need to make sure everyone has the opportunity to get out of poverty, We need to give the poor the tools to become financially healthy again. Courses on finance, debt and interest, financial advice and learn them how to get back on their feet.

• Select activity Multimedia materials Click here for multimedia mat... Multimedia materials Click here for multimedia materials
• Select activity Examiner commentary on the presentation Click here... Examiner commentary on the presentation Click here for examiner comments and mark awarded

So the problem, what is cyberbullying?: Cyberbullying is bullying with the use of digital technologies. It can take place on messaging platforms, gaming platforms and on social media. Cyberbullying includes sending hurtful and mean messages, impersonating people, embarrassing someone and Spreading lies about someone [uhm]. The incidents of depression and suicides caused by cyberbullying are rising. A growing problem that leads to depression and anxiety cannot be left unnoticed.

Global Relevance. So, this is Dr. Sameer Hinduja, and he is a Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University , and he said that 34% of students worldwide have experienced cyberbullying at least once in their lifetime. People that have experienced cyber bullying in their life time are nearly 2 times more likely to attempt suicide. Another global [uhm] cyberbullying research survey in 2008, found out that 43% out of 2,000 students that they have tested have said that they have experienced cyberbullying too. Then we have Ipsos, that’s an American study, has ranked the highest cyberbullying rates throughout the world and it is based on parents' testimony, because they are more likely to be concerned. [Uhm] the study is from 2018 and here you can see the results. India has the most cyberbullying rates and Germany, our neighbour country has 17%.

Local Relevance. In the Netherlands, the Association of Universities (VSNU) is going to draw up a plan to better support scientists that are intimidated and threatened. Professors and university educators face online hate campaigns, death threats and home harassment a lot. [Uhm] on this picture, the cover, you see Marion [uhm] Koopmans and shes on dutch television. She is part of the plan. [Uhm] in the article they talk about Catherine E. de Vries. She is a Dutch political scientist and she receives a lot of swear words everyday.  "I hope you get corona," was one of the death threats she has received. It even went so far that they made her address public and they threatened her family. She wants this to stop. [Uhm] online hate is rampant. Dutch moderators receive thousands of hate reports every day. Especially during elections and Sinterklaas. They end the article with: "We can't help the scientists, [uhm] , to silence those who are trying to, those who are trying to silence them through intolerance, sexism and threats, however we can support them. I disagree. I found a political solution and Britt, my team mate, has found  [uhm] an educational solution.

So, a political solution. I think that we can only.[uhm, uhm] tackle cyberbullying by tackling anonymity. A Dutch professor of social psychology, Paul van Lange, says the largely lack of social control on social media accounts is the perfect breeding ground for hatred to occur.

Bullies should be punished. When a target goes to [uhm] goes to court they should be able to sue the person that has violated them. However, it is in most cases hard to find the guilty party, due to the many majority of fake accounts online. [Uhm] meaning the people spreading the lies or rumours can’t be punished.

So I think you need to show proof of your identity, before making an account on social media. This means an improved verification process that allows for accurate identification of the person behind the account. This way cyberbullying will diminish.

[Uhm] In the Netherlands, [uhm] a Dutch singer named Gordon is fed up with all the anonymous hate reactions online. Since the large amount of anonymous hate reactions on the Press release website, he decided to no longer remain silent. He started a petition that has already been signed up more than forty thousand times. He said that you should hold people accountable for the things they post on social media and prevent people from hiding behind a false name when making offensive remarks. [Uhm] This is only possible with stronger real name policies and enforcement. [Uhm] In China they already took control of [uhm] social media and they have controversially banned certain social media platforms, and anonymizers. The operators of social networks are responsible for removing posts that are considered as rumours. Rumours are identified by undermining [mora] morality, the authenticity of information and undermining the social system. So these [uhm] Social networks should put them in different categories therefore they need several licenses. [Uhm] spreading false information and online hatred is a crime and is punishable for up to seven years in prison. This has in fact stopped false information and mean comments from spreading.

However in most, in some  countries [uhm] people are prosecuted for their opinion. So anonymity has its value. The Chinese government [uhm] has control because they don't want anyone directly threatening the government’s power. So any information that could harm the government's power will be deleted, because they will say it's false or it's a rumour even though it's not false or a rumour. So hiding their identity is [uhm] can be a value to be able to express your opinion there. And everybody should be able to encrypt their communications and personal data as an essential protection of their rights to privacy and free speech." The Chinese laws on social media simply limit those established standards of free speech. And governments shouldn’t determine what speech is true and what is not.

So, I think that tackling anonymity is still the best solution, because the negative aspects of anonymity outweigh the positive aspects. Especially, in America and countries within Europe, where everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right includes the freedom to have opinions and to receive or convey information or ideas. So, if you want to share your opinion, you may. There is just no excuse to hide behind a false name. Besides, the identity data does not necessarily have to be made public. They can be withheld from the judiciary. [If] Only if something that clearly involves false and harmful information, [uhm] the justice system should investigate it and know where the information came from, to be able to catch the bully. The rights to privacy will not be harmed when the court and government [uhm] can only look into your data when the judge approves it, just like the police needs a warrant before they can make an arrest. [Uhm], so, to be clear, all users should be subject to an enhanced verification process that enables accurate identification only when required by law [uhm], by law enforcement. When the sources can be traced, we can hold people accountable for what they post on social media, and we can catch the cyber bully and they can be punished accordingly.

These are my sources if you want to look further into this subject.

• Select activity Examiner commentary on the presentationClick here ... Examiner commentary on the presentation Click here for examiner comments and mark awarded
• Some candidates only identified their own perspective and did not refer to alternative views and approaches, including those of the other members of their team.
• Some presentations provided only an informative overview of their issue which describes what it is, rather than making an argument about why it is a problem and proposing a solution.
• Candidates made the mistake of not making any reference to their visual aids when speaking, meaning that they did not then support their argument.

Initially, our group work was quite organized. We agreed on the topic of illiteracy on day 1 after a class discussion. From then onwards, I took charge and brainstormed sub-topics and delegated them for us to research individually; [ Team member ] searched about the causes of the issue whereas I focused on the consequences. This method was effective as we could gather a considerable amount of information in a short period of time without any uncertainty as to who would research what. It was also useful as we realized early on that our issue was much more complex than we had thought and targeting specifically female illiteracy would allow for more focused, nuanced perspectives, and thus more interesting solutions. As for communication, most of our in-person meetings were in school rather than outside of school due to COVID risks. However, in between classes we talked and called frequently on WhatsApp which was sufficient enough to let us clarify our perspectives and keep track of each other's individual progress on our presentations.

• Select activity Examiner commentary on the reflective paper Click ... Examiner commentary on the reflective paper Click here for examiner comments and mark awarded

The teamwork went fine. All of us made sure that each one of us knew what was expected from them and attended the zoom meetings. We learned our personal team roles by the Belbin test, due to this we can now recognize our strengths and become more tolerant of our weaknesses. we tested our team fit in a practical team building exercise. When the introduction was finalized and the project was clear we were ready to brainstorm about the project in brainstorm sessions. During these sessions we were invited to join breakout rooms where we were given time to brainstorm. We chose our objectives, what are the goals and end product, divided team roles and appointed a scrum master. [Teacher] was our scrum master and made sure we did everything as we planned.  After brainstorming we chose three perspectives who were related to each other, had enough valid sources and were most related to the nuclear energy debate. We chose a topic that was both interesting and controversial making the subject debatable and relevant for this project. After doing quick research on different topics that meet our acquirements we decided that the nuclear energy debate fitted the best. The tasks were divided and each one of us chose a perspective. By choosing perspective, we assured that each one of us was interested and motivated in the subject. My personal perspective was the economical aspect., it is very relatable to the economics lessons I have been following for over three years so my knowledge I have built up was very useful for further research on the perspective. We helped each other out on the perspectives as we brainstormed on the topics during the sessions so we all were aware of each perspective. [Teacher] was our scrum master and made sure we did everything as we planned. He was in control of the time management and did a good job. Some members of the team were further than the others and were almost finished whilst the other members were still at the start of their transcript. To prevent this inconsistency within our time management in the future, we will have to re-evaluate personal progress within the group. The best solutions after researching each perspective were presented and evaluated. All the proposed solutions were compared and so we have concluded, nuclear energy must always be safe for the environment, environmental damage must be minimized at all costs and it has to satisfy three requirements; accessibility, availability and acceptability and it must be better for the climate. Thus being renewable, ecological and non-air polluting. This can be achieved by securing safety regulations and waste disposal management. The environmental and political aspect both agreed on the solution that human work should be replaced by machines for extra safety and to be sure no mistakes are made in the construction process. The placement of nuclear power plants should be far away from society to prevent disastrous situations. My interest and knowledge about nuclear energy, on a local and global scale, has increased. The research on the environmental, political and economical aspects changed the way I look at nuclear energy. At first, my belief was that it was extremely harmful for the environment and a very dangerous energy source, this due to things I heard in my city, Maastricht. people said that the local power plant, Tihange, is a threat to the environment of Maastricht and this formed my negative belief on nuclear energy. However, after this project I learned that nuclear energy has a great potential and is actually a good alternative energy supply that is better for the environment than fossil fuels. Environmental regulations like nuclear waste management must be made and further research on nuclear energy should be done to use nuclear energy to its optimum and replace fossil energy.

• Candidates sometimes only described what their team had done and did not identify strengths and weaknesses of their work together which would have led to an evaluation.
• Some reflective papers asserted what the candidate knows or believes about the issue and did not engage with how their thinking has changed or developed. This means that they did not reflect on the impact of alternative perspectives.
• Reflection needs to be on the effect of alternative perspectives on the issue. Some candidates reflected instead on their development of skills (of making presentations, for example, or doing research) which does not gain credit.

IGCSE Global Perspectives .net

2018-24 syllabus

Example Individual Report – Sustainable Living

This Individual Report demonstrates the requirements outlined in the IGCSE Global Perspectives Syllabus, Coursework Handbook, and Mark Schemes, as well as and the latest recommendations from Examiner Reports. Use this checklist to explore how it meets the assessment requirements.

Please also take a look at our Out of the Box teaching materials for IGCSE GP, which includes a unit on Sustainable Living which nicely complements this resource.

A personal voice is used for parts of the report. This is intentional because the IR is not simply a report about the issue , it is a report about the research project , and includes a requirement to develop and justify the writer’s own personal perspective (AO2 Reflection). The personal voice does not affect the academic standard of the writing. See this article for more discussion of style.

Note that the photographs illustrating this webpage are not part of the IR, but the two charts are.

IGCSE Global Perspectives Example Individual Research Report

Topic: Sustainable Living

Should we stop eating animal-sourced foods to live sustainably?

As a vegetarian, I am often asked to justify my choice of diet. I initially decided to stop eating animals when I found out about the horrors of the industrial farming system, 1 but lately I have heard claims that sustainability is another reason to avoid animal-sourced foods, and I want to find out if this is true. Vegetarianism and veganism are perspectives on diet shared by many people around the world. The number is growing, but they are still only a few percent of the population in most countries. 2 This means that the dominant global perspective is that animal-sourced foods are essential (or at least right and proper). The United Nations offers a third global perspective, which is worth considering because it attempts to create global agreement on sustainable development.

Evaluation of sources

I started with the documentary film Cowspiracy , which may be biased with a vegan perspective, but transparently lists its sources via its website so I could check its claims. Most seemed well sourced, but I rejected the striking claim that 51% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from animal agriculture because it included controversial assumptions, so for this I used a landmark scientific study: Poore and Nemaek (2018) 3 . Published in Nature , a leading peer-reviewed journal, it is based on a huge data set (which gives it high accuracy) and has very comprehensive analysis (giving it high credibility). We can see Poore is highly expert from his affiliation to Oxford University, 4 and the study is highly praised by other experts. 5 I have also used the findings of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). UN bodies can be trusted because they have large global teams of top scientists, and they are under such scrutiny that they cannot spin their findings. For other information I have used only quality sources such as government websites and reputable news agencies rather than blog posts. 

Effects of production and consumption of animal-sourced foods

As Fig.1 shows, animal agriculture takes up a massive proportion of the world’s habitable land and the bulk of the agricultural land, but it supplies only 18% and 37% of the world’s calories and protein respectively, meaning it is very inefficient.

Fig.1 – Global land use for food production 6

Compared to agriculture as a whole, animal agriculture consumes a disproportionate amount of land and fresh water, and causes the majority of air and water pollution. 7 It is also the biggest cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones and habitat destruction. 8

Of these many dreadful effects, I think greenhouse gas emissions is the most important to focus on, because the IPCC is warning that without drastic action we are heading for a future 3-degrees hotter, with potentially catastrophic effects on ecosystems, food security, sea levels, migration and wars. The window to take effective action is rapidly narrowing, so it is extremely urgent. 9

The IPCC says there is “significant potential” to mitigate climate change by adopting healthy diets high in plant-based foods and low in animal-sourced foods worldwide. 10 According to Poore’s study, even just reducing animal agriculture by 50% while targeting the worst producers would reduce total GHG emissions by 20%. 11 That is more than emissions from all transport (16%) or all energy use in buildings (17.5%). 12 GHG savings from those will need massive investment in infrastructure and technology and will take a long time. In contrast, the plant-based proteins to replace animal-sourced ones make far lower GHG emissions (Fig.2) and could be grown cheaply using just a little of the 3.5 billion hectares 13 of land saved from animal agriculture.

Fig. 2: a comparison of the carbon emissions from producing equivalent quantities of protein 14

Poore’s personal perspective must be one of the best-informed in the world. He says: “‘A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth.” 15

Is this perspective from the UN and from science being adopted by nations? — Not very well! Governments around the world are missing the opportunity to promote the lowest-carbon lifestyle choices, according to a 2017 study. 16 I confirmed this was true for my country, the UK — in the 135-page document that explains its plan to achieve “net zero” emissions by 2050 I could find no mention of diet whatsoever. 17 Unsurprisingly, the government is being sued by environmental campaigners for failing to create an adequate plan. 18

For balance, I sought out the perspective of the animal agriculture industry. The global industry does not speak with a single voice, but since the USA produces and consumes far more meat than most other countries, 19 I looked to the largest USA industry lobby group “Animal Agriculture Alliance” (AAA) for a representative perspective supporting animal-sourced foods. The AAA claim that the industry’s environmental impact is widely exaggerated, and that improving efficiency with technological innovations is enough environmental action, without cutting down on production. 20

However, I was not persuaded that the AAA is a good source of information. The website spins facts to support the industry, e.g. telling “Meat & Milk’s Sustainability Story” entirely by percentage improvements in efficiency, 21 which hides the fact that high growth has caused overall environmental impact to rise.  The AAA’s claim that the industry can reduce its environmental impact just by increasing efficiency is wrong because people will buy more when the product gets cheaper – an effect known as “price rebound”. 22 Overall therefore, this perspective seems highly distorted by vested interest and tries to maintain business as usual by giving false reassurances.

[Group of Zebu calves grazing in recently deforested land in the Amazon, Brazil.]

Causes of production and consumption of animal-sourced foods

If vegan foods offer such an environmentally beneficial alternative to meat, dairy and seafood, why are there so few vegans? Why is consumption of animal-sourced foods so high, and why aren’t governments and mainstream environmental groups persuading us to switch to plant-based foods?

One reason is that the livestock industry is very powerful and intimidates its opponents. In South America, many campaigners have been murdered. 23 In countries with stronger rule of law such as the USA, critics can be sued 24 under laws that protect the industry by restricting freedom of speech. 25 The powerful industry lobby also influences the government to subsidise the cost of production, e.g. by hunting predators and granting grazing on common land. 26 One study finds that if the externalised costs of meat production in the USA had to be included, the price would more than double. 27

Food supply is big business, so countries with large natural resources have an opportunity to exploit them to create wealth, regardless of sustainability. “You have to understand that the Amazon is Brazil’s, not yours,” said President Bolsonaro in 2019,” citing what he sees as hypocrisy from overseas environmentalists: “You destroyed your own ecosystems.” 28 Believing two wrongs make a right, Bolsonaro has engineered a boom in Brazil’s beef and pork exports, causing huge additional damage to the Amazon rainforest. 29

Global economic growth has expanded the number of people who can afford meat, and animal-sourced foods symbolise prosperity and status, 30 so people eat more as they get wealthier. China is the most spectacular example in recent years. China ate 5kg of meat per person per year in 1960 and eats 63kg today. 31 Unlike others, this is not a cause we would want to reverse, but it points to the frightening prospect of massive additional environmental impact if billions more people follow this trend when they make it out of poverty.

The widespread belief that meat and dairy are nutritionally essential is a major driver of consumption. It is not supported by the UK’s National Health Service, which voices national policy on health and nutrition: “As long as they get all the nutrients they need, children can be brought up healthily on a vegetarian or vegan diet.” 32 Cultural beliefs like this require time and education to shift, so it is disappointing to see that the UK government’s “Eatwell Guide” infographic 33 only weakly acknowledges plant-based alternatives.

In contrast, China’s government has recently set a goal of halving meat consumption by 2030, and is encouraging innovation and growth in the mock meat industry. 34 China’s Buddhist heritage may make it more culturally willing to embrace meat substitutes, and it is starting to view meat as risky, as the origin of diseases such as avian flu and COVID. 35 Cost is still a significant barrier to mass uptake, and good plant-based meat is still more expensive than animal meat, but China’s active government backing will help create the mass production which will bring down costs. 36

Taste is another key cause, but recently I have personally noticed huge improvements in plant-based meat and dairy substitutes, from companies such as Omnifoods, Impossiblefoods, and Beyond. 37 Growing rapidly, such companies intend to take market share from animal agriculture. 38

Which causes of meat consumption should we focus on? Some, like bullying and lobbying by the animal agriculture industry seem unjust, selfish, negligent, or even criminal, which motivates us to demand action against them. However, it is hard to challenge powerful vested interests, so in the search for a solution it may be better to consider the price and taste of substitute foods as the most important factors because once the technology improves it will spread globally and tend to weaken demand for animal-based foods naturally. Cultural factors are also critical because they will strongly affect people’s willingness to eat different foods.

Conclusions and reflection on the development of my personal perspective

Should we stop eating animal-sourced foods? – Yes, my investigation shows that they cause massive environmental harm, yet I found no reasons humanity couldn’t thrive without them. I was astonished to find that despite such a high impact on climate change, reducing animal agriculture is not yet prominent in climate action plans. I also realised that alternative climate actions such as travelling less would diminish our lives far more.

As a vegetarian myself, I was vulnerable to confirmation bias during this investigation, and I realised the need for patience and empathy when reading sources that opposed my views. The AAA website did not change my opinion, but it did help me to see how destructive their opponents must seem from their perspective, so I understood the need for support to help people transition their livelihoods out of animal agriculture. It made me wonder whether I am equally critical when I read information that supports my views, which prompted me to make extra effort to check facts.

Suggested course of action

Because of the urgency for climate action, I think only government policies can drive the necessary widespread change fast enough. All national governments should accept the IPCC’s message and effectively plan a switch to low-carbon plant-based diets. China’s 50% meat reduction policy is a good example to follow. To achieve this, government education materials like the UK’s “Eatwell Guide” should be updated to actively promote plant-based foods. Vegan food producers should receive tax breaks, and meals funded by the government (in schools, canteens for civil servants, etc.) should make the switch to increase demand. This will boost development of ever more attractive plant-based foods, and economies of scale to bring down their prices. Because culture and habits take time and effort to change, the government should also enlist the help of opinion leaders such as celebrity chefs to develop new, culturally attractive vegan dishes. Governments will need to help people switch their livelihoods from animal agriculture to the new opportunities which will arise, and should buy up surplus agricultural land for rewilding as carbon sinks.

Creating new national parks and restored ecosystems to enjoy, plus delicious new alternative foods to eat, this policy will have an overwhelmingly positive impact besides reducing climate change.

Body: 1910 words; within Fig 1: 62 words; within Fig 2: 28 words. Total: 2000 words

1 Foer, J. Eating Animals. First Back Bay paperback edition. New York: Back Bay Books, 2010. Print.

2 Wikipedia, “Vegetarianism By Country” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country#Demographics , accessed 2 Feb 2022

3 Goodland, R Anhang, J. “Livestock and Climate Change: What if the key actors in climate change were pigs, chickens and cows?” https://awellfedworld.org/wp-content/uploads/Livestock-Climate-Change-Anhang-Goodland.pdf accessed 2 Feb 2022

4 Poore & Nemecek (2018) Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers, https://josephpoore.com/Science%20360%206392%20987%20-%20Accepted%20Manuscript.pdf accessed 2 Feb 2022 and erratum https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30792276/   accessed 2 Feb 2022

6 The Guardian, 31 May 2018, Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth accessed 2 Feb 2022

7 Data source: UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, graphic from Our World in Data website: https://ourworldindata.org/global-land-for-agriculture accessed 28 Jan 2022

8 Poore & Nemecek (2018)

9 UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 6th Report, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/#SPM , accessed 1 Feb 2022

10 UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Special Report on Climate Change and Land, Executive Summary “5.6.3.1 Can dietary shifts provide significant benefits?” https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/chapter/chapter-5/ accessed 25 Jan 2022

11 Poore & Nemecek (2018) erratum https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30792276/  

12 Our World in Data website: “Sector by sector: where do global greenhouse gas emissions come from?” https://ourworldindata.org/ghg-emissions-by-sector accessed 31 Jan 2022

13 Our World in Data website: “If the world adopted a plant-based diet we would reduce global agricultural land use from 4 to 1 billion hectares” https://ourworldindata.org/land-use-diets accessed 2 Feb 2022

14  Data source: Poore & Nemecek (2018). Graphic from The Guardian, 31/04/2018, accessed 31 Jan 2022 

16 Wynes, S. and Nicholas, K. 2017 Environmental Research Letters, “The climate mitigation gap: education and government recommendations miss the most effective individual actions”, https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7541 , accessed 31 Jan 2022

17 UK Government: HM Treasury, “Net-Zero Review”, October 2021, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1026725/NZR_-_Final_Report_-_Published_version.pdf accessed 2 Feb 2022

18 The Guardian, 12 Jan 2022, “UK government sued over ‘pie-in-the-sky’ net-zero climate strategy”, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/12/net-zero-climate-strategy-uk-government-sued accessed 2 Feb 2022

19 OECD Data: “Meat Consumption”, https://data.oecd.org/agroutput/meat-consumption.htm accessed 2 Feb 2022

20 Desmog.com, “Animal Agriculture Alliance”, https://www.desmog.com/agribusiness-database-Animal-Agriculture-Alliance/ accessed 2 Feb 2022

21 Animal Agriculture Alliance website, “Sustainability”, https://animalagalliance.org/issues/sustainability/ accessed 2 Feb 2022

22 UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Special Report on Climate Change and Land, Executive Summary “5.6.3.1 Can dietary shifts provide significant benefits?” https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/chapter/chapter-5/ accessed 25 Jan 2022

23 The New York Times, 21 June 2016, “The Rising Murder Count of Environmental Activists.” https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/science/berta-caceres-environmental-activists-murders.html   accessed 2 Feb 2022

24 Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press website: “Appeals court upholds win in ‘mad cow’ lawsuit”, from Spring 2000 issue of The News Media & The Law https://www.rcfp.org/journals/the-news-media-and-the-law-spring-2000/appeals-court-upholds-win-m/ accessed 22 Jan 2022

25 Andersen & Kuhn, “Cowspiracy” 2022 version, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfmpXM7TADU accessed 21 Jan 2022

28 The Guardian, 19 July 2019, “Bolsonaro declares ‘the Amazon is ours’ and calls deforestation data ‘lies’” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/19/jair-bolsonaro-brazil-amazon-rainforest-deforestation accessed 2 Feb 2022

29 The Guardian, 16 March 2021, “Eating up the rainforest: China’s taste for beef drives exports from Brazil”, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/16/eating-up-the-rainforest-chinas-taste-for-beef-drives-exports-from-brazil accessed 31 Jan 2022

30 United Nations, Academic Impact: “Shifting to Sustainable Diets” https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/shifting-sustainable-diets , accessed 2 Feb 2022

31 Time, Jan 22, 2021: “How China Could Change the World by Taking Meat Off the Menu”, https://time.com/5930095/china-plant-based-meat/ , accessed 2 Feb 2022

32 UK National Health Service website: “Vegetarian and vegan diets Q&A”, https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/vegetarian-and-vegan-diets-q-and-a/ accessed 31 Jan 2022

33 UK Government, Public Health England, “The Eatwell Guide” https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-eatwell-guide accessed 31 Jan 2022

34 Time, Jan 22, 2021: “How China Could Change the World by Taking Meat Off the Menu”, https://time.com/5930095/china-plant-based-meat/ , accessed 2 Feb 2022

37 Own experience

38 MSN News: “Impossible Foods Prepares To Go Public At Around $10B Valuation: Report” https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/impossible-foods-prepares-to-go-public-at-around-10b-valuation-report/ar-BB1ft0qO accessed 27 Jan 2022

Works Cited (separate document)

10 comments

Commendable job

really good work

which citation style is this?

I used Easybib to build this citations list. I think I used MLA. CAIE don’t mind which standard you use, but they assess it for “consistency”.

Very useful! In my school we use APA format for citations.

Who else is watching this to write an individual report assignment at 3AM

Shouldn’t use wikipedia

It really depends what you use Wikipedia for. It may be open access, but it does have a community of editors who care deeply about accuracy and academic integrity. I have just noticed this video from Mike Caulfield of the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, in which he uses Wikipedia as a prima facie guide to the nature of an organisation and thus the likely credibility/bias of its website. There is little reason to fear misinformation from the Wikipedia page, given the comparatively low stakes and uncontroversial nature of the query. There are certainly other times when Wikipedia would not be a sufficiently authoritative source. However, Caulfield is talking about the evaluation of sources appropriate for members of the public as they form their views on issues, and that is about the level of IGCSE.

How much time did you spend on this report? also amazing job

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Discover more from igcse global perspectives .net.

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

Programmes & Qualifications

Cambridge igcse global perspectives (0457).

• Syllabus overview

Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives encourages learners to think about and explore solutions to significant global issues.

The syllabus:

• develops learners’ ability to consider significant global issues from different perspectives
• encourages learners to work collaboratively and individually and to apply their knowledge in different contexts
• develops transferable skills to complement learning in other curricular areas.

The syllabus year refers to the year in which the examination will be taken.

• -->2022 - 2024 Syllabus (PDF, 274KB)
• -->2025 - 2027 Syllabus update (PDF, 144KB)

Syllabus updates

To better meet the needs of learners, we have introduced a single list of topics to be used in all three components.

We have increased the weighting for the Team Element in the Team Project to support the importance of the work done as a team. We have also included a list of command words in the syllabus.

For full details of the changes, please see the 2025-2027 syllabus above.

Coming soon

We are developing a comprehensive range of resources to help teachers deliver this updated syllabus.

We aim to provide a scheme of work and other relevant classroom resources. Example Candidate Responses will be available following the first examination in 2025. Visit the School Support Hub from June 2025 onwards for details.

Endorsed resources

View the latest resources that are being developed by our Endorsement Partners for the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives syllabus (0457).

Cambridge IGCSE™ Global Perspectives 2nd edition (Cambridge University Press)

Help your students become global citizens and develop 21st century skills, including communication and analysis. Encourage students to value and understand other peoples’ perspectives, exploring global topics such as climate change. Digital teacher’s resource available.

Read more on the Cambridge University Press website

Cambridge IGCSETM Global Perspectives (Collins)

This course fully covers the Cambridge IGCSE and O Level Global Perspectives syllabuses (0457/2069). It develops students’ skills, preparing them for assessment as they explore contemporary global issues, rich international texts, data and case studies.

Read more on the Collins website

Important notices

A unique feature of Cambridge Global Perspectives is the dedicated Online Learning Area – free to schools that offer the subject. The area allows schools around the world to access resources and courses and build online communities.

You can access the Global Perspectives materials on the Online Learning area .

For some subjects, we publish grade descriptions to help understand the level of performance candidates’ grades represent.

We paused the publication of grade descriptions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the temporary changes to the awarding standard in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

As the awarding standard has now returned to the pre-pandemic standard, we are working to produce up-to-date grade descriptions for most of our general qualifications. These will be based on the awarding standards in place from June 2023 onwards.

Check the Submit for Assessment page and the samples database for information and guidance on submitting moderated and examined work using Submit for Assessment.

School Support Hub

Teachers at registered Cambridge schools can unlock over 30 000 teaching and learning resources to help plan and deliver Cambridge programmes and qualifications, including Schemes of work, Example candidate responses, Past papers, Specimen paper answers, as well as digital and multimedia resources.

Schemes of work

Example responses, past papers, specimen paper answers.

Register your interest in becoming a Cambridge School

Stay up to date

Sign up for updates about changes to the syllabuses you teach

• Past papers, examiner reports and specimen papers
• Published resources