Feeding the World

Sustainable Agriculture Systems 1/24/13

Agricultural Revolution
Advantages Control over food supply Food surplus
Division of labor Urban centers

Disadvantages Environmental change Less free time (at first) Reduced health outcomes (at first)
Shorter lifespan Shorter people More disease

Works in many places Accumulation of tools and goods

Hard work (at first) Social elite rules

Human Height
Average height can indicate health Fell after agricultural revolution Recent rebound less pronounced in US than Europe

Top: Hermanussen. 2003. Stature of early Europeans. Bottom: Washington Post. 2007. Based on Social Science Quarterly.

Population Reference Bureau. 1994.

The most urgent problem which the present day has to solve, is the discovery of the means of producing more bread and meat on a given surface, to supply the wants of a continually increasing population.
-- Justus von Liebig, c. 1840

16 15 14 13 12 11 Billions of People 10 9 8 Medium Projection Low Projection Actual

Human Population

High Projection

7
6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Estimate

IFPRI.org, Worldwatch, FAO

Environmental Impacts
Carbon Cycle Nitrogen Cycle Phosphorus Cycle Water Cycle Biodiversity Energy Modern changes: Pesticides, GMOs

Visiting Families of the World

Revis Family, North Carolina

$341.98

Hungry Planet, 2006, via Time

Caven Family, California

$159.18

Hungry Planet, 2006, via Time

Casales Family, Mexico

$189.09

Hungry Planet, 2006, via Time

Ayme Family, Ecuador

$31.55

Hungry Planet, 2006, via Time

Melander Family, Germany

$500.07

Hungry Planet, 2006, via Time

Sobczynscy Family, Poland

$151.27

Hungry Planet, 2006, via Time

Ahmed Family, Egypt

$68.53
Hungry Planet, 2006, via Time

Batsuuri Family, Mongolia

$40.02

Hungry Planet, 2006, via Time

Dong Family, China

$155.06

Hungry Planet, 2006, via Time

Namgay Family, Bhutan

$5.03

Hungry Planet, 2006, via Time

Low and high-cost diets

Low-cost diets Less processed and packaged food Short food supply chain Less meat, dairy, & seafood Grains and legumes eaten by people High-cost diets More processing, packaging, eating out Long supply chain More meat, dairy, & seafood Grains and legumes fed to animals

(Worldmapper.org, University of Sheffield)

(Worldmapper.org, University of Sheffield)

Global land area reference map

World Food Trade, 2002: Cereal & Dairy

Cereal Exports

Cereal Imports

Dairy Exports

Dairy Imports (Worldmapper.org, University of Sheffield)

Global land area reference map

World Food Trade, 2002: Meat & Fish

Meat Exports

Meat Imports

Fish Exports

Fish Imports (Worldmapper.org, University of Sheffield)

Global land area reference map

World Food Trade, 2002: Fruit & Veg.

Fruit Exports

Fruit Imports

Veg. Exports

Veg. Imports (Worldmapper.org, University of Sheffield)

Myth Busting
Myth: The American farmer feeds the world. Reality: America exports a lot of grain, which is mostly fed to animals for the worlds wealthy consumers. We grow more corn than any other nation, but more goes to gas tanks than export. We are net importers of fruit, vegetables, and fish.

Myth Busting
Myth America has the cheapest food on earth. Reality Food is less expensive in many other countries. Many Americans spend a small proportion of their income on food, but lower income Americans spend a large proportion of their income on food.

More corn, less diversity

USDA, 2008

Food & Beverage Price Index

200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20

0 1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

http://www.indexmundi.com/commodities/

Commodity Price Indices

http://www.indexmundi.com/commodities/

The Future of Food and Farming. 2011. UK Government Office of Science

Assignment
Read Chapter 3 of The Future of Food and Farming (UK Government Office of Science, 2011). Answer: 1. Why does the report project rising food prices in the future? 2. Who is likely to be hardest hit by rising food prices globally? Why? 3. Is the definition of sustainability in Box 3.5 an example of weak or strong sustainability? Why?