Will the world run out of food by? 2050: The world will run out of food in 2050 if we keep living

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

However, the issue will require attention soon enough when addressing the 70% food production increase mandatory in feeding the estimated world population of 9.3 billion by 2050 (United Nations, 2011).

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.

With the seemingly unstoppable growth of the world’s population and a projected global population of nine billion by 2050, the matter of whether or not there will be enough food to support the world’s populace is brought into question (Parfitt, et al., 2010). However, amid the concern for an adequate food supply, there is an immense amount of food waste produced by the world, including the United States. In fact, “according to the Natural Resources Defense Council as much as 40 percent of all food produced in the United States never gets eaten and typically ends up in the landfills or goes unharvested in the field “(King, 2015).

The sources of food and water problems are vast. Some of the sources are using corn as an alternative to feeding animals such as cows and pigs. As Michael Pollan states in his book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, corn was being mass produced after world war II after there were weapons of mass destruction with high nitrogen content that were the used as fertilizers. The issues mentioned in The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Blue Future by Maude Barlow share the same amount of issues in water and ability of the government to regulate farming practices and companies that are leading to these issues. Both books mention the major source of water loss as mass production of crops and meat.

Although some people are not aware of this problem, generating food is quite expensive, because it wastes energy, fresh water and natural resources during its growth, package and delivering. Furthermore, some scientists have found that decomposing uneaten food produces high levels of methane emissions. The world's population is growing extremely fast. As a result, if humans keep on wasting food at the same pace as today, the waste of generating food will increase proportionally, (Kruszelnicki, 2012).

The projected population for our world is supposed to exceed 9 billion people by 2050. With more and more crops starting to be crushed for ethanol, how will we keep up with the ever-demanding trek for food security? The answer to this will decide how life will be on earth for decades to come.

Also instead of buying food which is just going to be left at the back of the pantry or refrigerator we should wait and buy small amounts so we do not end up wasting so much food.

“The End of Food” by Paul Roberts was a very interesting book to read and quite frankly a bit frightening. Roberts touches on nutritional issues, governmental issues and environmental issues. It is apparent throughout the book that the food production system is not sustainable. The current food system relies on commercial farming and mass production of products. The mass production of food relies heavily on fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides. All of these practices to produce food at a mass quantity is concerning. Food safety is at risk when fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides are being heavily used as well. Since food is being produced at such a large rate, one would think that food would be cheaper to purchase, but one would be wrong. Roberts touches on un-reasonable food prices as well. Since biofuels are being used at such a large quantity rising energy prices may be another action that leads our food production to crash. There were so many topics talked about in “The End of Food”, that it is impressive Roberts was able to fit all of his views and information on four-hundred pages.

Another very crucial environmental issue, besides global warming, involves the finite nature of natural re, which are being depleted faster than their replenishment rates. The development model of the 20th century, which promoted the continuous consumption of products, has resulted in the reduction of agriculture land, food, water re as also fossil fuels. If humanity continues to consume fossil fuels at the same rate as today, oil re will run out by 2030, gas by 2040 and coal by 2200. By 2025, the number of people suffering due to water stress will rise to approximately 3.5 billion and almost half the world’s population is expected to experience high water stress by

We usually associate water shortages with a lack of drinking water, but global water scarcity has a critical impact on food security. Agriculture consumes more water than any other source. Climate change is altering patterns of weather around the world, causing shortages and droughts in some areas and floods in others. Water is key to food security. Crops and livestock need water to grow. Agriculture requires large quantities of water for irrigation and various production processes. Water scarcity may limit food production and supply, putting pressure on food prices and increasing countries’ dependence on food imports

Attention-getter: A study done by the World Food Programme shows over 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life. That's about one in nine people on earth. Another study done by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations shows roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year approximately 1.3 billion tonnes gets lost or wasted. This adds up to about $680 billion in loss of food alone. There should not be this much food wasted in the world with so many hungry people we have.

“When we have the first serious crop failure, which will happen,” says farm commodity expert Don Coxe, “we will then have a full-blown food crisis” – one far worse than 2008.

As the population grows, cities are constructed along rivers and other waterways, and the sources are modified to meet urban needs rather than ecological. More and more food needs to be grown to nourish people. Now, land is degrading and sea levels are rising, making growing impossible in many former farming areas. Because of this, "... 800 million people are chronically malnourished, and 2 billion lack food security" (Dahl, 603). Because agriculture for the masses depends heavily on irrigation, it puts additional strain on the globe's water tables (Dahl, 602). Not to mention that current water sources are being polluted by sewer discharge and industrial waste. Deforestation is another issue. Forests and other natural vegetation help protect against flooding and soil erosion. In the 1990s, 563,709 square miles of land were cleared of forests (Dahl, 602). Without these forests, global warming has been accelerated as more carbon is released into the atmosphere, rather than being consumed as fuel by plants and released as oxygen. For example, in India and Sri Lanka, a tsunami, unhindered by the mangroves that used to grow there, destroyed

In America, we are constantly surrounded by abundance. Food is a prevalent waste item in the United States. Most people do not think about the resources it took to produce, transport, and prepare the food they throw away. Our food waste is not actually just trash; it is the key to human survival. Ordinary consumers can change the future with one small action: to stop wasting food. Actions at the individual level can decrease food waste and feed those in need. Twenty five percent of purchased food is thrown away. (TED) Often this is because food has spoiled, but it can be for other reasons such as oversupply, misread labels, or individual consumer shopping and eating habits. http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3347e/i3347e.pdf