How To Feed The World

When we talk about the threat to the environment, we usually think of cars and factory smokestacks, not our dinner. However, the need for food is one of the greatest dangers for the planet.

Agriculture makes almost the biggest contribution to global warming. It emits more greenhouse gases than all cars, trucks, trains and airplanes combined, mainly from methane, which is released in large quantities by livestock farms and rice paddies, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide, which increases due to deforestation for fields or pastures. Agriculture requires very large amounts of precious water supplies and is one of the biggest sources of pollution, as fertilizers and manure runoff destroy the fragile ecosystems of lakes, rivers and coastal marine waters around the planet. Agriculture accelerates the rate of biodiversity loss. Clearing hectares of meadows and forests for farms.

Environmental problems caused by agriculture are very large-scale, and the more we strive to meet the world 's food needs , the more powerful these problems become. By the middle of the current century, it will probably be necessary to feed another billion mouths, that is, more than 9 billion people. However, not only the growth of the population is the reason for the increase in the need for food. Rising living standards around the world, particularly in India and China, are increasing demand for meat, dairy products and eggs. Which leads to the need to grow more and more grain and soybeans, and feed them to more and more livestock, pigs and chickens. If these trends continue, the dual pressures (from population growth and dietary diversification) will require a roughly 2-fold increase in crop production by 2050.

Disputes regarding the solution to the global food problem have  divided specialists into 2 camps. In one of them, traditional agricultural production and global trade ended up, in the other - local food chains and organic farms.

As in politics, it is easier to fight than to find a common solution. Proponents of traditional agriculture argue that modern mechanization, irrigation, fertilizers and improved genetics can increase production and meet demand. And they are right. Instead, proponents of smallholder and organic farming believe that smallholder farmers can increase production enough (and end poverty) without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, thanks to special fertility-enhancing techniques. And they are not wrong either.

However, it does not necessarily have to be a dilemma and a choice between one or the other. Both approaches offer great solutions, and neither approach can make them happen on their own. It would be wiser to consider all rational proposals, from small and organic farms to high-tech and traditional ones, select the best ones and combine them.

Currently, scientists can propose 5 steps that will help solve the food problem in the world.

Throughout most of history , when people needed more food , they simply cut down forests or plowed the plains for fields and farms. An area the size of South America has already been cleared for fields. And for livestock breeding, even more land is used - about as much as Africa. Agricultural lands have already led to the loss of entire ecosystems across the Earth, including the North American prairies and forests on the Atlantic coast of Brazil. Tropical forests are being cut down at an extremely alarming rate. But humanity can no longer afford to increase food production by expanding the area. The replacement of tropical forests with agricultural land destroys the environment like nothing else, while doing little to help those 850 million peoplein the world that continues to suffer from hunger. Usually, land cleared for arable land in the tropics does not contribute much to food security in the world, being used instead for breeding livestock, growing fodder soybeans, obtaining palm oil and wood. Avoiding further deforestation should become a priority.

Since the 1960s, the "green revolution" has increased yields in Asia and Latin America thanks to a better selection of varieties, wider use of fertilizers, irrigation and technology - but at the expense of great losses to the environment. Now it is worth increasing the yield on equally productive lands, in particular Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe, where there is a gap between the current level of production and the potential - by improving farming methods. Namely: the use of high-tech and high-precision farming systems, as well as the borrowing of organic farming approaches. This will increase the productivity of these regions several times.

Commercial agriculture has grown rapidly and has acquired innovative ways to apply fertilizers and pesticides more efficiently with the help of computerized tractors equipped with modern sensors and navigation systems. Many agricultural producers use a specially selected composition of fertilizers, which is the most suitable for the soils of a particular area, thus helping to reduce to a minimum the level of leaching of chemicals into nearby water bodies.

Organic farming also radically reduces water and chemical use: cover crops, mulch and compost improve soil quality, conserve water and store nutrients. Many farmers have also become more careful with their water use and have switched from inefficient irrigation systems to more precise irrigation methods, such as drip irrigation. Advances in conventional and organic farming are increasing returns on water and nutrients.

It would be easier to feed 9 billion people by 2050 , if more of what was grown went to the human stomach. Currently, 55% of all calories grown in the world directly feed people , the rest are fed to livestock (about 36%) or processed into biofuels and industrial products (about 9%). Peopleconsume meat, dairy products and eggs from farms, but only part of the calories from feed goes into these meat and milk. For every 100 calories of feed grain, we get about 40 new calories of milk, 22 calories of eggs, 12 calories of chicken, 10 calories of pork, and 3 calories of beef. Developing more efficient ways of raising animals for meat and switching to "lighter" diets (or even ditching feed-fed beef in favor of chicken, pork, or organic beef) could free up significant amounts of food worldwide. By limiting the production of biofuels from food crops, it is possible to significantly improve the supply of food to the population .

It is estimated that 25% of the world's food calories and up to 50% of the total weight of food is consumed or wasted before it reaches our table. In rich countries, this most often happens at home, in restaurants and supermarkets. In poor countries, at the stage between the producer and the market, due to the lack of necessary conditions for storage and transportation. Consumers in developed countries can reduce food waste in a very simple way: reduce portions, use leftovers and encourage food establishments and supermarkets to develop loss prevention measures. Of all possible options for combating food shortages, basic economy is the most effective. 

These 5 steps can increase the world 's food supply by more than 2 times, and also significantly reduce the negative impact of agriculture on the environment. Solving the world food problem requires each of us to be more responsible about what we put on our plate. It is necessary to understand the connections between the products and the farmers who grow them, as well as between the products and the land and water resources, the climate, on which the life of all mankind depends. Filling our basket with products in the supermarket, we, often without realizing it, make a choice that will have an impact on the future.