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How Are We Going To Feed 10 Billion People
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The global food security crisis has been an ongoing topic of discussion among world leaders for years now.
In today’s video, we are going to explore this phenomenon and try to understand how we can save future generations
- of our rapidly expanding population - from food shortages?
But let’s not waste any more time, and dive into this one...
What If?
What if the global food supply falls short of the demand?
What if current food-self-sufficient countries become net food importers?
What if more food continues to be wasted rather than consumed?
And Aluxers, while these things might seem to be far-off realities, We’re here to remind you these things are coming at us faster than we thought they would.
The world population is expected to grow to nearly 10 billion by 2050, and to support that, we would need to produce more food than we ever have..
But before we explore solutions to this alarming food crisis, let’s first get down to the basics
Introduction
Right now, India and countries in Africa account for one-third of the world’s food-sufficient populations.
China - which accounts for one-fifth of the population - is a net importer of food.
Now, if you’re thinking the population is the sole reason behind this upcoming food crisis, we would like you to know it’s really just the tip of the iceberg.
Over the years, worldwide food consumption patterns have changed drastically, and so have the ways in which food is produced.
Currently, the amount of calories produced worldwide are not equally distributed across the globe,
and aside from human consumption, are used in other ways, like through feeding livestock.
Inflation in food rates has also been a contributing factor to this food crisis facing some parts of the world right now.
For example, food inflation in Pakistan increased 10.68% in August 2019, over the same month in the previous year.
More than half of the country’s population is food insecure,
and the government in Pakistan has been internationally condemned to help ensure the population is able to meet its food deficit.
Over the last few years, many parts of the world have faced a similar surge in food prices,
resulting in civil unrest and, in some cases, the overthrowing of governments.
What’s more, other global issues like climate change are only aggravating the food crisis,
as unstable climate conditions lead to unstable growing conditions, affecting the crop yields of even the most fertile lands in the world.
Now the problem at hand having such a complex nature, one could wonder - what are we going to do about it? Or is it simply... unavoidable?
Well, you can rest assured, with advancements in technology,
there have been several changes in the food production sector that are helping to make the system better.
Let’s take a look at these solutions - and who are the top players driving the change.
The Changemakers
Aluxers, whenever we think about global issues like this one, we always feel like it’s governments and policy makers.
The NGOs and intellectuals who can steer us in the right direction and fight for change.
But surprisingly, there are some famous businesses making major strides when it comes to food security.
The world-famous candy maker Mars is a household name, and being one of the world’s top cocoa consumers,
it's driving many sustainable practices that can also help cocoa producers in Africa to improve their efficiency.
After observing inefficiencies in cocoa production, and realizing it was a cumulative result of the unavailability of good agricultural equipment...
a lack of knowledge... and low investments in the agricultural sector, Mars committed itself to empower its producers to reach their best potential
something we all must strive for if we wish to meet our current - and future - food demands.
Another way to tackle this issue is to cut down on consumption and search for more sustainable alternatives
which is exactly what the world’s second-biggest consumer of cotton - IKEA - is trying to do.
The Swedish furniture giant has partnered with the World Wide Fund and is working to reduce consumption of pesticides
and water used for growing cotton through various producers worldwide.
Cotton is considered to be one of the top commodities that are under threat of mass extinction,
and efforts taken for its sustainable growth are definitely commendable.
Another household name pioneering sustainable production practices is Unilever.
Considering the array of FMCG products (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) sold by them,
one can well imagine the amount of starch Unilever consumes annually.
Until recently, most of this starch was synthesized chemically, but the company has now substituted the synthetic starch
with organically produced crops like cassava, which is grown in Indonesia.
Such efforts made by top companies can definitely help boost the agriculture industry, and push locals to opt for farming by choice,
rather than as a last resort.. especially in countries like Indonesia.
And Aluxers, with its beautiful rice terraces, Indonesia also makes a blissful tourist destination to visit
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Now that we know there are businesses playing their part to help farmers and food security worldwide,
let us understand how technological advancements can help us in producing food more efficiently.
The Future Of Food Production
When it comes to worldwide issues - like food security - of course we’ll be looking at the science and technology sectors.
Over the years, advancements in biotechnology and the introduction of Genetically Modified (GMO) food products
have improved the effectiveness of the agricultural sector around the world.
Years of collecting data in agriculture have shown only 30% of the plants, contribute to 70% of the produce.
As well, top producers in the world’s largest agricultural economies tend to produce 10x better than their low yielding counterparts.
These findings have helped scientists to map genes of the best-producing crops, and World Wide Fund has made this critical data available in public domains
- forgoing the intellectual property in an urge to solve the food security crisis.
Now if you are thinking that GMOs are the answer to all our problems, it is not as simple as it looks.
GMO crops don't come affordably, and as we already discussed, food inflation is not a good thing.
Meanwhile, some intellectuals believe GMO crops will only push profits for big Biotech companies, rather than addressing the main issue.
A better way to solve the food crisis could be to push the lower-performing 70% of produce, to improve yields, rather than replicating all the best-performing crops.
Challenges And Threats
Although there are many businesses and non-profit organizations that are striving to address this complex issue,
there are lots of challenges, at a behavioral level, that make the food crisis even more complex.
People consume and produce food very differently in developed countries, compared to developing ones,
and even the nature of food waste is very different in these two parts of the world.
At present, developing countries face challenges in storage and the maintenance of staples produced,
whereas developed nations face the challenge of cutting down on food waste, post-consumption.
Now, given the nature of the problem is so complex, there’s no way we can come up with a cookie-cutter model to replicate across the globe and solve this issue.
Every geography needs to adopt its own best practice, as per their local needs,
driving sustainability in both food production and consumption levels.
Even though science and technology have advanced to a great extent to improve the way we produce food
right now, we are wasting one calorie for every three calories we produce,
and we simply cannot keep doing the same for the remaining 31 production cycles leading up to 2050.
Conclusion
Aluxers, we know that burning issues like food security are not something an individual can solve alone,
but while world leaders are trying to address the cause,
we can all do our part by opting for sustainably produced food items and cutting down on food waste on a personal level.
Question
Of course, we know we have a large international audience, and we’re curious -
Is your country suffering from food inflation or a food-related crisis?
Also, what is your take on this alarming phenomenon?
Are you someone who would opt for a low-calorie diet,
or would you prefer to take steps to curb food wastage rather than changing your consumption habits?
Let us know in the comments.
Now, for sticking with us until the end, as always, here’s your...
Bonus
Aluxers, we talked a lot about food security today, so any guesses as to which is currently the most valuable crop on the planet?
Well, believe it or not, it’s Cannabis, currently valued at $47,660,000 per square kilometer of crops.
It surpasses both the opium poppy at $6,000,000 and cocoa at $37,700,000 when it comes to cash-rich crops.
Thank you for spending some time with us Aluxers!
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