Researchers Make Grim Predictions About the Global Food Situation

The researchers have discovered that half of the worldwide population does not benefit from the existing food supply and that unless things change, the situation will get even worse.

The report revealed the fact that in order to feed itself, the world will need to cause irrecoverable damage to the planet. However, this scenario could be avoided if the scientists would be able to make a transformation similar to the industrial revolution. Making a discovery of such a large scale is almost impossible, many scientists have stated. Currently more than 1 billion people on this planet are suffering from hunger, more than 1 billion do not obtain the necessary nutrients from their foods, and about 1 billion people are obese because of their eating habits. The two sides are opposite of each other, but even so, both of them are suffering because of the current food system. The prices for the food are on the rise worldwide, and the experts believe that they will continue to rise in the future. That will lead to various complications, as people will be forced to migrate to other regions in order to be able to survive. It is also likely that the future will bring much more conflicts because of the food system. Lawrence Haddad, director of the Institute of Development Studies and who was one of the authors of the Global Food and Farming Futures report, said that the food system is conceived in a very bad manner.

On one side there are people who are dying from hunger, and who struggle to find something to eat each day. On the other side we have people who eat too much, and who waste food, thus becoming sick, and reducing their life expectancy. These people who eat too much and who become obese have higher chances of suffering from diabetes or of high blood pressure, and many other illnesses. The problem is that the worldwide population is on a constant rise, and because of that more food is required. The process of making food is very polluting, and 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, are a result of this process. All the experts have reached to the conclusion that something should be done very fast, because if action is not taken immediately, then the process might be irreversible. They said that the best thing would be if the farmers would be able to produce more food with less money and with less pollution. Of course, that is impossible for the moment, and it will be unless a breakthrough in science will be made. 400 scientists from 34 countries participated to the research, and they have agreed that the situation is very complicated. By 2050, there will be 2 billion more people than there are nowadays, and if the food creating processes will remain the same by that year as well, the pollution could reach sky high. That will be a problem as well, because the pollution might lead to unpredictable weather events, and then the farmers might not be able to produce food.

The researchers have stated that currently there isn’t a solution for solving the problem, and that it is very likely that the problem will not be solved with a single solution. They believe that the entire world should be aware of the situation, and that they should join forces in order to do something about it. All the fields from science should join forces in order to solve the problem, because otherwise the problem will get worse. The researchers said that one of the biggest problems is represented by the food waste. It has been discovered that more than 35 percent of the food which is created, is never consumed. That represents a waste of money, and causes lots of pollution. Solving this problem will be very difficult, and at this moment it seems impossible. The entire infrastructure of all the countries in the world will need to be changed in order for the cars to consume as less gasoline as possible, the trucks should be upgraded, and so on. The organic agriculture has been mentioned numerous times in the past, but the researchers have stated that it is not a valid option because that would mean that the entire world should change its eating habits, which will never happen. They said that currently the best option would be to start using genetically modified crops because they grow faster and larger. Of course, many people consider them to be unethical and unsanitary, but the researchers have stated that we might have no other option. The food prices were raised in 2008 and in 2010, and the reactions appeared very soon afterwards. The exports were stopped in numerous countries, and it is believed that in the future the situation will be even further. Armed conflicts might arise because of it, and numerous people could lose their lives. Because of the price spikes, more than 100 million people were put in the position of being unable to purchase food, thus suffering from hunger.

Various experts were against these predictions, stating that the solutions suggested by these researchers, are for the rich countries, and that once again, the poor countries will be the ones to suffer. They said that the rich countries do not have problems with the food, and that they should try to focus on fining a way of feeding the poor countries. Various UN specialists have stated that in the recent period of time, the poor countries have used more food than usual, and they have not tried to do something about it in order to help themselves. Most of these poor countries did not try to increase their agriculture, and because of that they are affected the most when the prices of the food fluctuate.