Will there still be any left for me? From the day we were born into this world, we have learned to seek food to help fuel our bodies. Sadly to say though, not everyone in this world is fortunate enough to have access to food every day due to a variety of reasons such as the lack of resources and current poverty levels. 35 years from now, the world’s population is expected to reach 9.1 billion, which is 34 percent higher than what it is today. Meeting the food needs of this many people is certainly not an easy task, and will require collaborative efforts as a nation. To ensure that society meets their health and food needs, the demands of greater food production will have a direct impact on the environment and sustainability of our planet and …show more content…
The heavy use of nitrogen and potassium in fertilizers can cause it to leach out into fresh water reserves, causing eutrophication, algal growth, and the depletion of oxygen affecting the aquatic animals. (Tan and others 2003) Additionally, it is estimated that livestock production accounts for 70 per cent of all agricultural land use and occupies 30 per cent of the land on the planet. Due to sheer numbers, livestock produces a considerable volume of greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide which contribute to climate change as well. (Suzuki 2014) The first couple of steps in food production clearly acts as a domino effect, affecting multiple aspects of our ecosystem. The increase in food production comes with a trade-off; it helps meet food demands, but also creates further issues regarding the availability of land and resources for future generations. Therefore, the implementation of sustainable land use practises is key. The recent global spike in food prices represents an underlying shift in the supply and demand of food world-wide. Since 2005, the price of a barrel of oil has tripled from 40 dollars to 120 dollars, this drives up the costs of the transportation and storage inputs of agriculture and the products themselves, and the cost of production
Humans are damaging the planet to live comfortably, we must change the way food is distributed worldwide, support local farmers and switch to a healthier diet in order to stop global warming. The current global has been getting better for us humans over the years, from eating bread and eggs 3 times a day in the XV century, now we can eat better than the kings of those times, however the much of the food in not healthy and the global food system still fails in getting food to every individual in the planet and in addition it contributes to the destruction of our world. Ms. Anna Lappe explains how the food system contributes to around 1/3 of the global warming issue in her essay “The Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork”, while a group of Plos one explains the issues about the export and import of food growth over the last 50 years in the
Shifting back to a more locally sourced food economy is often touted as a fairly straightforward way to cut externalities, restore some measure of equity between producers and consumers, and put the food economy on a more sustainable footing.” (source E). The long-distance transportation of food uses a profligate amount of fuel and exploits cheap labor in the process. It can greatly assist the environment to buy from local sources by making the carbon footprint of food production lesser and saving natural resources such as oil.
One of the biggest problems facing the world today is global warming. The main reason behind it is the production of carbon dioxide from our cars, factories, power plants and other greenhouse gases, which is having a heating effect on the atmosphere, and this affects our ocean weather and agriculture, thereby dangerous to human life. “In Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork “Anna Lappe gives her views on how global warming can lead to many problems, what are its probable causes and potential solutions to it. Whereas in “Research and Development on Climate Change and Greenhouse Gases in Support of Climate Smart Livestock Production and a Vibrant Industry” Scholtz discusses the impact of global warming and continued, uncontrolled release of greenhouse gases on the livestock industry and consequently food security as well as
The book The No-Nonsense Guide to World Food, by Wayne Roberts introduces us to the concept of “food system”, which has been neglected by many people in today’s fast-changing and fast-developing global food scene. Roberts points out that rather than food system, more people tend to recognize food as a problem or an opportunity. And he believes that instead of considering food as a “problem”, we should think first and foremost about food as an “opportunity”.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines food security as the situation when “all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” Since Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) were introduced to the market in 1994, numerous controversies have emerged around advantages and disadvantages of GM technology. The goal of this paper is to examine whether GMOs contribute to promoting food security or exacerbate the problem of global hunger and food insecurity.
There are many problems confronting our global food system. One of them is that the food is not distributed fairly or evenly in the world. According “The Last Bite Is The World’s Food System Collapsing?” by Bee Wilson, “we are producing more food—more grain, more meat, more fruits and vegetables—than ever before, more cheaply than ever before” (Wilson, 2008). Here we are, producing more and more affordable food. However, the World Bank recently announced that thirty-three countries are still famine and hungers as the food price are climbing. Wilson stated, “despite the current food crisis, last year’s worldwide grain harvest was colossal, five per cent above the previous year’s” (Wilson, 2008). This statement support that the food is not distributed evenly. The food production actually increased but people are still in hunger and malnutrition. If the food were evenly distributed, this famine problem would’ve been not a problem. Wilson added, “the food economy has created a system in w...
Staple food prices depend not only on variation in production but also on levels of stocks at global and national level (Peskett, et al., 2007, 17). Therefore, staple markets need to work better if rice and wheat are going to quickly take the place of maize consumption (Peskett, et al., 2007, 17). Choosing other alternative crops as the materials is the better way that can reduce the problems of food availability and severe variation in food prices. However, the only problem is that second generation biofuels are still in the developing stage and may become commercially available only in the next 10-20 years (Ajanovic, 2010, 6).
In the past ten years the world population exceeded six billion people with most of the growth occurring in the poorest, least developed countries in the world. The rapidly increasing population and the quickly declining amount of land are relative and the rate at which hunger is increasing rises with each passing year. We cannot afford to continue to expand our world population at such an alarming rate, for already we are suffering the consequences. Hunger has been a problem for our world for thousands of years. But now that we have the technology and knowledge to stamp it out, time is running short.
We live in an age in which we have come to expect everything to be instantaneously at our fingertips. We live in an age of instant coffee, instant tea, and even instant mashed potatoes. We can walk down the street at 5 in the morning and get a gallon of milk or even a weeks worth of groceries at our discretion. Even though it is great that food is now readily available at all times, this convenience comes at a price, for both the producer and the consumer. Farmers are cheated out of money and are slaves to big business, workers and animals are mistreated. And, because food now comes at a low cost, it has become cheaper quality and therefore potentially dangerous to the consumer’s health. These problems surrounding the ethics and the procedures of the instantaneous food system are left unchanged due to the obliviousness of the consumers and the dollar signs in the eyes of the government and big business. The problem begins with the mistreatment and exploitation of farmers.
A United Nations report states that land used for animal agriculture, both for grazing and production of crops fed to livestock, takes up an astounding 30% of land on Earth. ("Meat Production Wastes Natural Resources") To meet the industry’s demands, over 260 million acres of forest in the U.S. have been cleared to grow grain fed to farm animals. ("Meat Production Wastes Natural Resources") With that in mind, the meat industry also dumps disease-causing pathogens through animal waste that pollutes water and forces the need for waste lagoons to be constructed, which are susceptible to leaking and flooding. ("Facts about Pollution from Livestock Farms”) Scientists say that about 14% of the world’s greenhouse gases are released by said agriculture industries, which is a growing concern for climate change and global warming. (Silverman) The meat industry uses one-third of all the fossil fuels consumed in the United States. (Moore) There is no question that farming animals has a negative effect on the environment and steps should be taken to mitigate air and water pollution risks and future deforestation. If animal agriculture was phased out, land used for animal grazing could be returned to forest land and some of it converted into fields for cultivating crops for humans. A global shift toward veganism, resulting in the elimination of the meat and animal agriculture industries, would protect the environment from various detrimental effects.
Giving the world a chance to admit, food has a lot to offer humans on this planet. For example, of course people need food to survive and people use food for their own personal needs as well. From healthy food to unhealthy food, the world is guilty of eating it all. Food is food, and the world has made billions of dollars from this powerful substance. Yes, food is powerful because the world strives from eating it. Energy is stored in this substance, which is known as chemical energy. However, some chemical energy cannot be too good. Food has its' pros and cons that affects the world in a numerous amount of ways. Fast, cheap food is known to be to good to the taste but bad to the body. While people are eating this food, they do not quite understand
The growing world population is demanding more and different kinds of food. Rapid economic growth in many developing countries has pushed up consumers' purchasing power, generated rising demand for food, and shifted food demand away from traditional staples and toward higher-value foods like meat and milk.
“Currently 80% of the world’s agricultural land is used directly or indirectly for animal production. In the US over half the total land mass is used for the production of meat and dairy products” (Clarke).
One of the most complex issues in the world today concerns human population. The number of people living off the earth’s resources and stressing its ecosystem has doubled in just forty years. In 1960 there were 3 billion of us; today there are 6 billion. We have no idea what maximum number of people the earth will support. Therefore, the very first question that comes into people’s mind is that are there enough food for all of us in the future? There is no answer for that. Food shortage has become a serious problem among many countries around the world. There are many different reasons why people are starving all over the world. The lack of economic justice and water shortages are just merely two examples out of them all.
This can not be done with the same ineffective tactics that were used in the past, so that’s why people are developing new ways to eradicate hunger. When the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) was held, they discussed the nutrition component and how important it is that it is not overlooked. By paying attention to nutrient-dense foods and recognizing the different entry points for improving nutrition, the ICN2 argues the world will be one step closer in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal. Some of the entry points they discussed include “the promotion of crop diversification…, strengthening local food production and processing, and exploring regulatory or voluntary instruments for promoting healthy diets” (goals 2). Promoting the nutrition aspect of the goal can help achieve it because nutrients are what keep people alive and