Food - Global Overview

The world currently produces more than enough food to feed everyone, yet 815 million people (roughly 11% of the global population) went hungry in 2016, according to the U.N.

By 2050, with the global population expected to reach 9.8 billion, our food supplies will be under far greater stress. Demand will be 60% higher than it is today, but climate change, urbanization, and soil degradation will have shrunk the availability of arable land, according to the World Economic Forum. Add water shortages, pollution, and worsening inequality into the mix and the implications are stark.

Over the last century, our eating habits have changed dramatically, with our diets becoming almost unrecognizable to those of our grandparents and great-grandparents. The way we shop, cook and dine has been altered by our attitudes towards food – yet is the modern way the better way?

The world’s population is growing. But today, at a global level, agriculture is currently producing one third more calories than necessary to feed all the people in the world. That means: In principle, there is enough food for everybody. Nevertheless one person in nine goes to bed hungry. Worldwide there are still 800 million people going hungry.

What issues are we facing today related to the food?

Food and Transportation

These days we're able to head down to the supermarket and purchase a vast array of foods from all over the world, no longer restricted by local environmental factors and/or the seasonality of a product: you can get flowers from Africa, fruit from Europe, snacks from Asia and spices from South America. Today retailers can source food from wherever it is cheapest around the globe at the touch of a computer key.

But to meet this demand, our food is transported further than ever before, often by air. That makes it a major contributor to greenhouse emissions and climate change. It also means a heavy dependence on a resource that is not only finite but also highly politically-charged: oil.

So our food supply is more vulnerable than before. Cars, trucks, and boats are more ways our food gets transported,. which one is the most polluting?

Food and Energy

As our food travels down the supply chain from growers to processors to grocery stores and restaurants and, ultimately, to our plates, energy, fuel, and other resources are used at every step along the way to grow, transport, prepare, package, cook, and serve the food we eat. This energy and fuel use produces carbon emissions and contributes to climate change, the environmental challenge that is “the defining issue of our time”.

Current energy consumption in agri-food systems is unsustainable on the long term. The food industry is currently consuming 30% of the world’s available energy, with more than 70% occurring beyond the farm gate, and produce over 20% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions (around 31% if land-use change is included).

Food and Chemicals

Every day people are exposed to a cocktail of chemicals in food that interact with each other in ways that are far beyond our understanding. This “chemical soup” is particularly dangerous when we include food chemicals in our diets.

We mistakenly assume because it's sold on a shelf, it's regulated with healthy and consumable ingredients. Pre-packaged food must have a long enough shelf life to make it from the processing plant, to the store, to the consumer. Chemical preservatives keep the food fresh longer, and over 14,000 lab-made additives enhance its shelf appeal. Research estimates that the United States consumes 500 million kilo’s of chemical additives each year. While the use of these chemicals is kept as quiet as possible, for obvious reasons, they have been associated with a number of negative health and behavioral conditions.

Food waste

Food waste is a huge problem in developed countries and it is a serious economic and environmental issue. With millions of people all over the world struggling to find enough food to eat, the fact that millions of tons of food is tossed out every year can be surprising. But it is true.

1.3 billion tons of food are wasted every year. This amounts to $1 trillion US dollars of wasted or lost food. Food waste generates 3.3 billions tons of carbon dioxide, which accelerates global climate change. If wasted food was a country, it would be the third largest producer of carbon dioxide in the world, after the United States and China. And just one quarter of all wasted food could feed the 795 million undernourished people around the world who suffer from hunger. How can we waste so much food when so many people are suffering from malnutrition and hunger?

By 2050 there will be 9 billion people on the planet - but will there be enough food for everyone?

Food and GMOs

GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, is a term commonly used to describe crops produced through a plant breeding technique that uses a specific type of genetic engineering. Foods from Genetically Engineered plants were introduced into our food supply in the 1990s. Cotton, corn and soybeans are the most common Genetically Engineered crops grown in the U.S.. In 2012, GE soybeans accounted for 93 percent of all soybeans planted, and GE corn accounted for 88 percent of corn planted. It has been estimated that upwards of 75% of processed foods on supermarket shelves – from soda to soup, crackers to condiments – contain genetically engineered ingredients.

A number of studies over the past decade have revealed that genetically engineered foods can pose serious risks to farmers, human health, domesticated animals, wildlife and the environment. Despite these long-term and wide-ranging risks, Congress has yet to pass a single law intended to manage them responsibly. What is really happening with GMO foods, and how can we avoid consuming them.

This week, at the Conscious Club, is dedicated in tackling all the problems regarding the foods we eat.

What do you do regarding making more sustainable food choices? By tagging us with #theconsciouschallenge you can share your ideas!

Want to contribute to our Ecological Footprint Bible? Submit us your scientific articles! Mail us at info@theconsciouschallenge.org

Sources:

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987
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