Threats to Global Food Supplies Essay

The global population is expected to reach 9 billion people by the year 2050 and scientific projections indicate that world is on a trajectory towards an environmental and global food crisis. World Leaders, environmental enthusiasts and aid agencies have cause for alarm as they support urgent policies for change, for without them mankind will face unprecedented food insecurity. In 2015 estimates were that there were “some 795 million people” [World Food Programme, 2015], experiencing food insecurity and 3.1 million children under 5 died through malnutrition, while Australians continue to waste an estimated 361 Kg’s of food per person per yr [PMSEIC, 2010, p.44] All the while the earth groans under the weight of Greenhouse Gas Emissions [GHG], deforestation, soil degradation and

Over the next forty years, global population is expected to reach nine billion people. This increase in population, combined with expected economic growth, will cause an increase in food demanded and inevitably drain the resources we use for food production. So far, agriculture has been able to respond positively to the rising demand for crop and livestock products. However, farmers are already faced with many new challenges associated with feeding an expanding global population. Farmers must now meet strict new emissions requirements and produce more food on fewer acres while minimizing their environmental footprint. The demand for food is expected to grow substantially in the next couple decades. Some of the factors affecting an increase in food demands are population growth, rising incomes of individuals, food supply factors, and biofuels.

To conclude, our current way of agricultural life is not sustainable. The article “What’s for supper” has made me realize that if I hope for a better future for generations to come I should support a locally sourced lifestyle. This article is an eye opener to me and proved to me the importance of supporting locally grown produce. Locally grown produce supports the environment as well as jobs for people in the community. The current system takes a toll on every species on the planet. Humans are overproducing on a massive scale and are wasting close to half of our supplies and

Food is the foundation of human live and people cannot survive without it. Food security is a vital issue facing the governments around the world. However, food shortage is becoming increasingly severe in this day and age. There are several reasons which led to the universal food shortage and they are interconnected to each other. Increasing world population, extreme weather and the wide spread use of biofuels are the main causes of worldwide shortage of food. These factors lead to food price rises rapidly.

The worlds biomes at the moment are unable to feed the growing global population in the future. They might be able to feed the population now but as the population grows we need to increase the worlds agriculture to provide enough food to feed the growing population. In order to feed the growing population, the world needs to put into action some simple steps to increase food production and to reduce wastage from existing food.

As the Earth’s population grows at breakneck pace over the next several decades, who will feed the world’s people? Agriculture has undergone an extensive expansion and transformation throughout the last few centuries, beginning with the Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s. New technology allowed for better and greater methods of production. With the development of modern technology, people try to think some way can plant less, get more. Many farmers plant only one crop in the same place year after year. However, those against monocropping claim that it is very hard on the environment and actually less profitable than organic means of farming (“Monoculture Crops – Learn About The Effects Of Monocropping”). In addition, the destructive nature of agriculture has recently shown its hand. While our supermarkets, convenience stores, and restaurants are filled with abundant food options, people forget to ask themselves where all this food comes from. Globalization has opened up economies of scale and has allowed people to tap into different types of products, whether that is food or clothing. But the availability of an increased mass market comes at a cost. However, today, the modern farming techniques have grown into a headache for farmers and governments alike, because they are the consequences of overproduction, industrial waste and other problems arising from the modern methods of agriculture. Thus, modern techniques are harmful to environments, animals, and humans.

Even though we are only conducting a small scale sustainable agriculture on campus, we wish to achieve the goals for sustainable farming. We want to be sufficiently productive, while using resources efficiently and minimize undesired and unnecessary waste. Moreover, we want to be resilient and adaptable to any changing conditions such as weather, water shortage, and labor availability. Therefore, the main goal of our project is to maximize production with limited resources and

With the global climate rising, human population progressively increasing, and our current administration peeling away environmental regulations, taking care of our earth has become more of a priority than ever before. A growing issue is finding a sustainable agriculture method: one that meets society’s food needs whilst also keeping in mind future generations to come. Finding an efficient and effecte solution has been a controversy for years. The debate stems from the idea of survival versus morality and preservation. Regardless of conflicting views and standpoints, the issue regarding agricultural practices affects all.

By the year 2050, it is estimated that there will be nine billion people living on the planet, the problem arises when it comes time to feed all nine billion. In essence, this is what the global food crisis is. In the video “Feeding Nine Billion Video 1: Introducing Solutions to the Global Food Crisis,” the causes of the food crisis are explained in terms of climate, population growth, and the lack of food in stores. Despite the grim outlook drawn, the video claims that there is a solution to this crisis and that we already have the means to solve it. In combination with one another, four global solutions can be applied and modified for local communities to prevent and end the crisis. Through science

Jennifer Ayres exposes the necessity for moral and theological considerations of the food system in her book Good Food, although she warns us that the analysis of the global food system is enough to throw anyone into despair. Ayres provides us with an analysis of the global food system by evaluating the key players. She breaks her analysis up into several parts by looking at the effects the global food system has on people, communities, the environment, and finishes with an exploration into the ways in which the global food system has shaped our political policies. She shows us that whether we are consumers, farmers, laborers, or legislators, we all play a role in the global food system and “food demands our attention” (Ayres, 2013, p. 13).

One of the widely discussed issues, nowadays, we must tackle sooner rather than later is scarcity of food on our planet. Today our population growth is rising , and as Jonathan Foley says “ In 2050 there will be nine billion people in Earth “. Our planet does not have sufficient amount of food to feed whole world’s population. It is obvious that, the planet has a problem with the food supply to 2050 and to rectify this problem we need to stop expanding land, increase crops on land that we already have, use water efficiently, use less animal products, and to save food- as Jonathan Foley suggests in “ Feeding Nine Billion “. I feel fearful, but I do not want to change my habits.

Food security is a worldwide concern because of the increases in the price of food, food shortage and other various reasons similar to these. These issues are addressed not only by governments but also by many non-governmental organizations. Clearly the issue of food security is a human right that is of the most importance.

The Brundtland report defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” From early times, philosophers, such as Thomas Malthus, believed humanity could not be sustained. Malthus believed mankind would reach their carrying capacity, specifically with regards to food. Yet, this notion changed in subsequent years, thanks in part to the green revolution. This revolution helped increase crop yields due to new fertilizers, pesticides, etc. While there became more food available, sustainability, with regards to producing food in an environmentally friendly way, ran into some difficulties. While the Brundtland commission defined sustainability, there are three components that must be integrated for the well-being of all—social, environmental, and economic. Each component of sustainability must be looked at critically when considering the sustainable use of any resource. While many simply worried about having enough food available in the world, one must think of food sustainability with regards to environmental, economic, and social implications. As follows, the importance of food sustainability will be discussed, along with the attempts to measure food sustainability.

According to DeSchutter (2011) food crises is viewed in three categories which include as a nutrition crises, a poverty crises and an ecological crises. Agricultural systems have placed a lot of pressure on the ecosystem which also affects food availability. However, in critically viewing the issue of agriculture and food security, the non-availability of food should not be the main issue instead the loss of nutrient in the food should be addressed. A look at the concept of Shiva (2011) on food security, three major areas which include food safety, ecological aspects and people’s right to food which is similar to DeSchutter’s Concept.

Food is the foundation of human live and people cannot survive without it. Food security is a vital issue facing the governments around the world. However, food shortage is becoming increasingly severe in this day and age. There are several reasons which led to the universal food shortage and they are interconnected to each other. Increasing world population, extreme weather and the wide spread use of biofuels are the main causes of worldwide shortage of food. These factors lead to food price rises rapidly.