World population is forecast to increase from seven billion
now to 9.6 billion in 2050, and that means the world will need 69 per cent more
food, says the institute.
It can’t come from the way we currently produce food because
there won’t be enough land, water and energy.
Agriculture already accounts for 24 per cent of greenhouse
gas emissions, takes 37 per cent of the global landmass and uses 70 per cent of
the available water.
If governments continue with current goals for ethanol and
biodiesel fuels from farming, that will take 32 per cent of current production
volumes, yet provide only two per cent of the energy requirements 36 years from
now.
It’s often said that there’s enough food for everybody and
that the challenge is distribution, but the institute points out that even if
all the food we’re currently producing were distributed absolutely evenly to
everybody in 2050, people would be short by 974 calories.
Among the solutions the World Resources Institute identifies
are:
-Reducing
waste which currently claims a quarter of production before crops move from
fields to dinner plates. Eliminating waste would narrow the food gap by 20 per
cent.
-Eating
healthier diets. Reducing beef consumption by 20 per cent would free up a lot
of land to produce other foods, the institute says.
-Reducing
family size, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa where the population is projected
to double by 2050.
-Increasing
cereal-crop yields on the same trend line that currently exists. That would
close the gap by 30 per cent.
