The world currently produces enough calories to overfeed every human—presently,about 2,700 calories per head—and yet the world, as a whole, is underfed. The reality is in no small part due to the overwhelming inefficiency of our global food production and consumption. A third of the food we produce is used to feed animals; another third is wasted; and roughly 5% is used to produce biofuels.
One billion cattle confined in cattle farms occupy about a quarter of the land on the planet, and 2) our taste for livestock is already a leading cause of global warming. Roughly 15% of world carbon emissions stem from the meat industry. The worst offender by far is the cattle industry. The beef and dairy industries alone account for a tenth of global emissions.
In the US, some 70% of people are obese or overweight; in Latin America and Europe, nearly 60% are.
The most abundant biological resource on earth, marine microalgae, has not previously been used directly in food production. Also called phytoplankton, microalgae can grow up to 50 times faster than land plants. Indeed one gram of microalgae can grow to several tonnes in only ten days. With such a high productivity rate, this resource therefore offers a huge potential for intensive production of food or animal feed in the future.
According to the United Nations, increased aquaculture production and exploitation of new marine resources are the main basis for food production in the future. Norway produces salmon corresponding to roughly 37 million dinner-sized portions each day, and demand is increasing annually.
In Nigeria, 27 percent of families experience foodless days. In India it is 24 percent, in Peru 14 percent.
World hunger is caused not by a lack of food but by capitalism that concentrate power in the hands of a few corporations.
Frances Moore Lappe is the author of the 1971 bestseller “Diet for a Small Planet”. She says, we must shift from a “scarcity mind” to “ecomind,” one that does not see growing more food as the solution. “The fundamental premise is fear-driven — that there’s not enough,” said Lappe. “The message from the biotech industry is, ‘The world is running out of food. Starvation is around the corner without us. Trust us.’ That leads to the conclusion that we’ve got to give up our power to big corporations.” Monsanto “are part of a system that is at the root of hunger — the concentration of power, the lack of transparency in the biotech industry.”
Lappe even critiques the notion that genetically modified seeds create higher yields, citing a New Zealand study comparing yields from non-GMO crops in Western Europe with GMO crops in the U.S., which found no difference. “What we need is seeds that don’t make people dependent on purchased things they cannot afford.”
She argues that in the last 30 years, the Green Revolution has hardly reduced hunger. “If it weren’t for China’s progress since 1990, worldwide we’d have managed to cut hunger by 6 percent — leaving 842 million still chronically hungry. ”
One billion cattle confined in cattle farms occupy about a quarter of the land on the planet, and 2) our taste for livestock is already a leading cause of global warming. Roughly 15% of world carbon emissions stem from the meat industry. The worst offender by far is the cattle industry. The beef and dairy industries alone account for a tenth of global emissions.
In the US, some 70% of people are obese or overweight; in Latin America and Europe, nearly 60% are.
The most abundant biological resource on earth, marine microalgae, has not previously been used directly in food production. Also called phytoplankton, microalgae can grow up to 50 times faster than land plants. Indeed one gram of microalgae can grow to several tonnes in only ten days. With such a high productivity rate, this resource therefore offers a huge potential for intensive production of food or animal feed in the future.
According to the United Nations, increased aquaculture production and exploitation of new marine resources are the main basis for food production in the future. Norway produces salmon corresponding to roughly 37 million dinner-sized portions each day, and demand is increasing annually.
In Nigeria, 27 percent of families experience foodless days. In India it is 24 percent, in Peru 14 percent.
World hunger is caused not by a lack of food but by capitalism that concentrate power in the hands of a few corporations.
Frances Moore Lappe is the author of the 1971 bestseller “Diet for a Small Planet”. She says, we must shift from a “scarcity mind” to “ecomind,” one that does not see growing more food as the solution. “The fundamental premise is fear-driven — that there’s not enough,” said Lappe. “The message from the biotech industry is, ‘The world is running out of food. Starvation is around the corner without us. Trust us.’ That leads to the conclusion that we’ve got to give up our power to big corporations.” Monsanto “are part of a system that is at the root of hunger — the concentration of power, the lack of transparency in the biotech industry.”
Lappe even critiques the notion that genetically modified seeds create higher yields, citing a New Zealand study comparing yields from non-GMO crops in Western Europe with GMO crops in the U.S., which found no difference. “What we need is seeds that don’t make people dependent on purchased things they cannot afford.”
She argues that in the last 30 years, the Green Revolution has hardly reduced hunger. “If it weren’t for China’s progress since 1990, worldwide we’d have managed to cut hunger by 6 percent — leaving 842 million still chronically hungry. ”
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