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From Phys.org:
Global food consumption and production is seriously unbalanced. In the UK alone we threw away 4.4 million tonnes of "avoidable" food waste in 2015 – that is food that was edible before it was discarded – which equates to £13 billion worth of food wasted, or £470 per household. Meanwhile, nearly 800 million people globally are chronically undernourished.
The world population is projected to grow to 9 billion people by the middle of this century. We face a huge challenge in finding ways to adequately feed this rapidly growing population whilst also protecting the natural environment.
However it is not just the amount of food production and the balance of its distribution that are key concerns for sustainably feeding the planet. We also need to think about what we are eating.
Presently western diets are characterised by a high proportion of animal foodstuffs, and this is a problem not just for our health, but for the environment. The Hunger Project has cited climate change as one of the hidden sources of hunger. In doing so it highlights how food production and the environment are inextricably linked.
Meat and dairy production requires more land, more water and has higher greenhouse gas emissions than plant based alternatives. As the global population continues to grow, we will need to be ever more prudent with the resources that are required for food production. We must consider whether the proportion of resources currently devoted to meat and dairy production is optimal given the numbers needing to be fed and the environmental impacts such diets can cause.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday June 02 2017, @05:15PM (2 children)
Sometimes. There's not much you can do about the weather.
It's safer to say there would be far fewer regional shortages without human-caused problems like war and poor policy or inadequate technology.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday June 02 2017, @06:55PM (1 child)
This is true. Hunger would still exist on a massive scale though. People foolish enough to outbreed their food sources or live in areas that are not capable of supporting much of anyone get no sympathy from me.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday June 02 2017, @07:21PM
I'm not so sure that's how it happens. It's not as though a community knows it has enough food to feed all 50 of them, and then irresponsibly materializes 50 more children the next day for some reason. And it doesn't seem to make sense that a person living on marginal land, with barely enough to eat, would conclude that the best thing to do is add another mouth to feed.
Then, I have never experienced famine or lived among people starving on marginal land who act as you're describing. Maybe other Soylentils have and can verify that people starve for the reasons you're asserting; and, if so, perhaps they can explain the logic of having more kids in a situation like that.
Washington DC delenda est.