Our daily bread
November 3rd, 02009 by Kirk Citron
The Long News: stories that might still matter fifty, or a hundred, or ten thousand years from now.
There may be more than nine billion humans by 2050, which begs the question: how will they all get fed? Particularly when you consider that we’re having trouble feeding the six billion who are already here.
Some recent news stories about food:
1. The scope of the problem:
1.02 billion people hungry: one sixth of humanity undernourished, more than ever before
Climate change is worsening food insecurity, experts say
2. Food instability breeds other kinds of instability:
Refugees protest food disruption in Uganda
Fight against hunger key to security: Clinton
3. It’s not just the developing world that’s at risk:
Britain will starve without GM crops, says major report
US crop yields could wilt in heat
Methane’s impact on global warming far higher than previously thought
4. Can farmers save us?
Prairie pioneer seeks to reinvent the way we farm (thanks to Shane Runquist for the pointer)
Bill Gates bets a billion on ag research
5. We truly are what we eat:
Rats on a junk food diet behave like drug addicts
Mediterranean diet associated with reduced risk of depression
We invite you to submit Long News story suggestions here.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 12:22 pm and is filed under Long News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Posted on November 3rd, 2009 at 4:23 pm
It would seem from this story that our future seafood diet will be limited to jellyfish. Not the most savory prospect.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/north-sea-change/
Posted on November 4th, 2009 at 11:22 am
A critical issue related to how we will feed the world, is our consumption and protection of our freshwater resources. Clean, fresh water is required to grow/produce our food and certain foods (higher on the food chain) consume much more of it than others.
Becoming more aware of what the water requirement is for what we eat is the first step towards being able to make more informed decisions that affect the availability of fresh water.
Many of us take for granted our access to clean, fresh water, when it’s in fact a very limited resource, and one that is essential for our very survival.
Posted on November 5th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
… also our current problems with global malnurishment are more related to inequitable distruibution. No matter how much food we produce, if the poor have no money to pay for it, they will go hungry. This is the world we live in. In 2009 it just sounds cliche to blame capitalism but …
Posted on November 21st, 2009 at 10:38 pm
“Rats on a junk food diet behave like drug addicts.”
More detailed information on this topic can be found in the book “The End of Overeating” by David A. Kessler, MD