Food – Feeding Many

FEEDING MANY

Herein lies the problem:

Nearly a quarter of all planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions come from food production and croplands.

And, the world population is expected to approach 10 billion people by 2050. With this projected increase in population and shifts to higher-meat diets (apparently global meat and diary consumption is set to increase by nearly 70%, agriculture alone could account for the majority of the emissions budget for limiting global warming below 2°C (3.6°F). This level of agricultural emissions would render the goal of keeping warming below 1.5°C (2.7°F) impossible

And, it is not easy to solve:

Farmers can’t plant much more land, because almost every accessible acre of arable soil is already in use. Nor can the use of fertilizer be increased; it is already being overused everywhere except some parts of Africa, and the runoff is polluting rivers, lakes, and oceans. Irrigation, too, cannot be greatly expanded—most land that can be irrigated already is

In so far as beef currently requires 20 times more land and emits 20 times more GHG emissions per gram of edible protein than common plant proteins, such as beans, perhaps we need to shift our crops for livestock feed to plant proteins

And, surely we need to shift the way we raise cattle to become a part of regenerative farming so that they become a part of the solution rather than the problem. 

Cutting waste even by modest amounts would also feed millions in so far as between one-third and a half of the viable crops and food produced from them around the world are wasted, in the developing world usually because of a lack of infrastructure such as refrigerated transport, and in the developed world because of wasteful habits. 

Charles Mann, in a piece he wrote in The Atlantic in 2018, tackled this seemingly insurmountable problem dividing the world into those who would say, “cut back” from those who would say “innovate.” 

What is food insecurity?

CURRENT NEWS

Bill Gates has radical plans to change our food. What’s on the menu?

By Stacy Malkan 05/26/21
To the techno-food industrialists, hunger and climate change are problems to be solved with data and engineering. The core ingredients of their revolutionary plan: genetic engineering — and patenting — of everything from seeds and…
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Are there too many people? All bets are off

By Laura Spinney 05/08/21
In 2011, when the global population hit 7 billion, economist David Lam and demographer Stan Becker made a bet. Lam predicted food would get cheaper over the next decade, despite continuing population growth. Becker predicted…
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Consumers would pay more for sustainably produced food, study finds

By Fermin Koop 04/14/21
If the environment isn’t being polluted and soils aren’t being damaged in its production, consumers in Finland would be OK to pay extra for food, according to a new study. Researchers found that 79% of…
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Actions on sustainable food production and consumption for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework

By Izabela Delabre, Lily O. Rodriguez and Others 03/19/21
Current food production and consumption trends are inconsistent with the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature. Here, we examine how, and under what conditions, the post-2020 biodiversity framework can…
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Growing food and protecting nature can work together. Here’s how

By Thomas Hertel 03/15/21
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us that food security can’t be taken for granted. Putting affordable food on the table requires both innovative producers and well-functioning markets and global supply chains. With disruptions to…
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Think Food Prices Are Going Up? You’re Not Wrong

By Jaya Saxena 03/04/21
Food prices are soaring around the world, due largely to the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. This sadly comes at a time when millions of people are out of work and already struggling to afford…
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3 Million Refugees in Eastern Africa Risk Going Without Food

By Joe McCarthy 03/03/21
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the most vulnerable populations the hardest, deepening existing inequalities. In Eastern Africa, an estimated 3 million refugees are at risk of not having enough food, a deteriorating situation that has…
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These 3 Cs can increase food insecurity in Africa, warn experts

By Kiran Pandey 03/03/21
Climate Change, conflicts and the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) — the ‘Triple C’ — will impact Africa's food security, increase malnutrition and restrict development in the long run, alerted panelists at a virtual discussion on extreme weather…
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AgTech: An all-in-one solution to world hunger, climate change and supply chain problems

By Kirsteen Mackay 03/03/21
Agricultural technology, also known as AgTech, agritech, or even agrotechnology, is a growing phenomenon. The idea of farming indoors may seem perplexing, as traditional farming has always had such a wholesome nature/nurture relationship between mother…
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Cutting Greenhouse Gases From Food Production Is Urgent, Scientists Say

By Henry Fountain 11/05/20
Rising greenhouse gas emissions from worldwide food production will make it extremely difficult to limit global warming to the targets set in the Paris climate agreement, even if emissions from fossil-fuel burning were halted immediately, scientists reported Thursday. But…
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2 Billion People Faced Food Insecurity Worldwide in 2019: UN Report

By Joe McCarthy 07/15/20
An estimated 746 million people suffered from severe food insecurity in 2019 — an increase of 60 million from 2014, when global hunger rates began to climb for the first time in decades — according…
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How This Arctic ‘Doomsday Vault’ Could Save Us From A Global Food Crisis

By Laura Paddison 02/25/20
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is welcoming new seeds from around the world, including the Cherokee Nation. ...
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KEY RESOURCES

Food security and nutrition around the world in 2020

10/06/20
Five years into the 2030 Agenda, it is time to assess progress and to question whether continuing efforts implemented thus far will allow countries to reach SDG 2 targets.

Climate Change, Global Food Security, and the U.S. Food System

06/12/20
Climate change is likely to diminish continued progress on global food security through production disruptions that lead to local availability limitations and price increases, interrupted transport conduits, and diminished food safety, among other causes.

Friends of the Earth

11/15/19
Friends of the Earth fights for a more healthy and just world. Together we speak truth to power and expose those who endanger the health of people and the planet for corporate profit. We organize…

Feeding Ourselves Thirsty

11/15/19
"Tracking Food Company Progress Toward a Water-Smart Future"

MORE NEWS

Asia’s food crisis: a $800 billion investment needed in next 10 years

By Stella Soon   11/27/19  
Asia is "unable to feed itself" — and needs to invest another $800 billion in the next 10 years to produce more food and meet the region's needs, according to a report...
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Feeding the Billions: A New Frontier for Sustainable Eating

Reported by Al Jazeera   06/11/19  
Zero waste restaurant and jellyfish dinners: Alternative food solutions could help alleviate an impending food crisis.
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Feeding the Planet in the Age of Climate Change

By Mitchell Davis   02/26/19  
Food system thought leaders meet to talk hunger, health, and the future
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Sparing vs Sharing: The Great Debate Over How to Protect Nature

By Fred Pearce   12/03/18  
What is the best way to save nature – to cordon off areas for parks and open space or to integrate conservation measures on working lands?
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Katharine Wilkinson: How empowering women and girls can help stop global warming

By Katharine Wilkinson   11/01/18  
If we really want to address climate change, we need to make gender equity a reality, says writer and environmentalist Katharine Wilkinson.
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How Can We Avoid A Food Crisis That’s Less Than A Decade Away

10/05/17  
No discussion of food security seems to occur without some reference to the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization’s (FAO) forecast of a global population surpassing nine billion people in 2050. The question of how…
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Nourishing Patients and the Planet: The Role of Hospital Food Service in Climate Leadership

By Health Care Without Harm   04/22/16  
In committing to food procurement that is protective of the climate, food leaders are safeguarding a healthier future for everyone.
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CNN

Food will be scarce, expensive and less nutritious, climate report says

By Jen Christensen   08/09/19  
Food will become scarcer, grocery prices will spike and crops will lose their nutritional value due to the climate crisis, according to a major report on land use from the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on…
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Changing climate imperils global food and water supplies, new U.N. study finds

By Brady Dennis   08/08/19  
[A] sprawling report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) examines how land use around the world contributes to the warming of Earth’s atmosphere.
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BBC

A bit of meat, a lot of veg – the flexitarian diet to feed 10bn

By James Gallagher   01/17/19  
A diet has been developed that promises to save lives, feed 10 billion people and all without causing catastrophic damage to the planet.
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Dan Barber: ’20 years from now you’ll be eating fast food crickets’

By Emma Brockes   11/09/18  
In the latest from our series on biodiversity, the Blue Hill chef says we’ve got sustainable agriculture wrong. It’s not a question of sacrifice, but deliciousness
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NPR

5 Major Crops In The Crosshairs Of Climate Change

By Dan Charles   10/25/18  
Climate change is coming like a freight train, or a rising tide. And our food, so dependent on rain and suitable temperatures, sits right in its path.
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Death by fertilizer

By Nathanael Johnson   10/02/18  
Nitrogen fertilizer is a disaster. Abandoning it would be a bigger disaster. Now a dozen billionaires are funding an alternative.
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EAT

Waste Not Want Not: Adressing Inequities of the Global Food System | Dr. Fanzo | EAT Forum18

By Jessica Fanzo   06/11/18  
Dr. Jessica Fanzo Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor of Global Food & Agricultural Policy and Ethics, John Hopkins University
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Feeding the world: Can we preserve forests, go organic and eat meat?

By Roz Pidcock   04/19/16  
It is possible to produce enough food to feed a growing population without another tree being felled, according to new research. But there’s a catch.
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