Food Shortages: Solutions and Strategies to Prevent a Crisis

In Full Planet, Empty Plates, Chapter 11, “Can We Prevent a Food Breakdown?” Lester R. Brown discusses the major problem in the world which is food shortage. Human population will be affected by the complex issue that comes with the shortage. People need food in order to live so as population is rapidly increasing the resources are being consumed at the same rate which complicates the situation. There is no idea as to how many people can be supported under these complicating circumstances. An individual may begin to question whether there is enough food for everyone. Food shortage leads to short and long term impacts such as starvation, malnutrition, and food price increase which affect everyday life (Brown, 114). The idea that parents worry for the well-being of their children since they may reduce the amount of activities they do at school due to not having the sufficient amount of food consumption to get through the day which is fundamental for their growth. The price of food increases due to people’s high demand which ultimately affects every aspect of the production. The issue of consuming too much meat products can lead to obesity or the concept of malnutrition due to the lack of food production. It can also depend on the economic position an individual is going through which might limit the nutrition they are able to obtain. The world population is growing rapidly, therefore the number of consumers will grow as well making it of extreme importance to find a practical and real solution method to produce food. Issues with food production are technical, environmental, social, political, and economic which can be improved with stabilizing the climate, modifying our food consumption, and controlling soil erosion.

As mentioned in lecture 5, the quality of our food supply is impacted by climate change due to the high temperatures, intense weather change, droughts, and increase of carbon dioxide. Photosynthesis is the process in which plants and other organisms use sunlight in order to synthesize food from carbon dioxide and water (Walling, 12). The food that people consume will come from plants either directly or indirectly since plants are the product that animals are intaking. Also, the plants are creating the oxygen necessary for animals and humans to breathe which is why plants are essential for our food supply. Climate change intensifies the existing issues with crop growth which can be quite evident with the food we consume from our local markets. As mentioned in Lecture 3, people are able to notice whether a fruit or vegetable is immature and are not able to properly enjoy it which ties back to the issue of seasonal weather changes (Walling, 17). People have the chance to get involved in reducing their carbon footprint. It most definitely make changes instantly, but will develop an impact as time progress which will benefit future generations. Climate change not only affects the food production but also an individual’s health depending on the area whether it be extreme high temperatures or air pollution. Many situations can be avoided such as air pollution since people can help reduce it by conserving energy, limit driving, amongst other environmentally friendly options. Climate change is making the overall cultivation and production of our life necessities harder to achieve.

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The idea of reducing the daily consumption of meat is a way to reduce the climate impact of food production. People are given options such as consuming plant-based foods that not only will present benefits to climate change, but also benefits in terms of human health. In the article, “Greenhouse gas benefits of fighting obesity,” states, “To a large extent, the increase in obesity is due to two effects which have to be regarded simultaneously. The first effect is the increased food consumption, the second effect is a shift in consumption of intake of foodstuffs containing saturated fatty acids, such as meat and dairy products” (Michaelowa et al. 300). The dietary changes that can be made can favor more plant-based options like fruits, nuts, and seeds that can ultimately free some land that is used to raise livestock. In lecture, in mentioned how food products such as hamburgers were implementing plant based patties which gives individuals a wider variety of options when it comes to picking what to eat. This option of the plant based patty gives people the same texture of a meat patty, but rather consisting of grains, legumes such as soy, and multiple vegetables. The fat intake that comes from animal sources not only causes these health issues, but also leaves less space to be able to expand other sources of production that does not require as much space. In order to suffice the increase of food demand, the food production must increase as well which ultimately influence factors such as fuel use, fertilizer, and the amount of livestock.

Mostly, the food humans worldwide consume comes from the land and less from the oceans which makes of extreme importance to preserve the land and be able to maintain a stable soil fertility in order to see positive results. The world population is increasing overtime which only means food will be of higher demand. The maintenance of the world food supply is dependent on the quality of agricultural soils. Soil is in many cases exposed to very extreme wind pressure or rain which can create erosions. In the article, “Soil Erosion Threatens Food Production,” the authors state, “Basically all of these techniques require keeping the land protected from wind and rainfall energy by using some form of biomass cover on the land which means either leaving most of the crop residues on the cropland or planting cover vegetation on a harvested cropland” (Pimentel et al. 454). Agricultural fields are exposed to the forces of nature and must be prepared for any situation that approaches in order to protect the crop that will eventually reach the hands of an individual to consume.

In the end, it is clear that food shortage is a serious global issue which can lead to impact the population both socially and agriculturally and a solution must be found before it leads to long term effects. The causes of food shortages are well known to the world and with the correct measures can be solved effectively. Food crisis can come from a variety of aspects such as rates of hunger and malnutrition. In the market economy, it is recognized that when food prices tend to rise it is due to the scarcity of the particular product. The idea that food shortages not only affect the economic spectrum, but also people’s health which can ultimately increase deaths in the world because they won’t have all the nutrition that is needed. Short-term and long-term actions must be taken in order to assist countries that are most affected and advocate for improvement in food policies. As prices increase, food will become a luxury because it will get to the point where individuals who aren't economically stable will struggle to provide food for their family. Even if food is capable of obtaining it would lead to more limitations in other aspects of life. The idea of being able to create awareness about food production in order for future generations to increase a conscious in producers as well as consumers which will strengthen the way people take of the world around them which provides them with the nutrition necessary to remain living a healthy and happy life.

Works Cited

1. Brown, Lester R. Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity. , 2012. Print.
2. Michaelowa, Axel, and Björn Dransfeld. “Greenhouse Gas Benefits of Fighting Obesity.” Ecological Economics, vol. 66, no. 2-3, 2008, pp. 298-308., doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon. 2007.09.004.
3. Pimentel, David, and Michael Burgess. “Soil Erosion Threatens Food Production.” Agriculture, vol. 3, no. 3, Aug. 2013, pp. 443-463., doi:10.3390/agriculture3030443.
4. Walling, Linda. Lecture 5 Alfalfa and Climate Change. Jan. 2020, https://ilearn.ucr.edu/bbcsweb
5. dav/pid-3736215-dt-content-rid-33815988_1/courses/BPSC_021_001_20W/Lec%205-%
6. 20Alfalfa%20%26%20Climate%20Change.docx.pdf. PowerPoint Presentation.
7. Walling, Linda. Lecture 3 Avocado. Jan. 2020, https://ilearn.ucr.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-3721493- dt-content-rid-33761643_1/courses/BPSC_021_001_20W/Lec%20%203%20Avocado %202020.pdf. PowerPoint Presentation.