Will We Have a Food Crisis?

Though population is expected to grow significantly, yield increase from food crops has been slowing down.

Field of wheat under cloudy gray sky

The population is expected to grow by 1% each year, but agricultural production needs to grow by 1.5% each year due to food waste. But, the growth rate needed for agricultural production may not be possible to sustain in the future because we have only so much space, energy, and resources. To increase yields in the past, Norman Borlug, a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, used green revolution techniques like creating disease and drought resistant hybrids of plants. Those plants were able to produce more usable resources for human consumption and significantly helped the develping countries they were created in. So can we continue to use those techniques today? We may not be able to, because of a plethora of factors. For one, fertilizer use increases with these agricultural advancements. Fertilizer is mainly derived from fossil fuels and is very dangerous as runoff to the environment. Pesticide use also tends to increase with green revolution techniques, and it is even more damaging to local flora and fauna. Then, water consumption needs to increase, and that in itself is its own sustainability issue. Despite significant technology and funding, yield production has been slowing down. It may not be possible to keep our current agricultural production trends up for very long.

So what can we do and what can we expect the future to look like? For one, we can reduce food waste as much as possible. 40% of the food produced globally is wasted, and that also means that 25% of freshwater consumption, 4% of oil consumption, and $166 billion goes down the drain as well. By consuming all that you purchase and finishing the whole meal on your plate, you save not just food, but other crucial resources as well. Be mindful of the perishibles that you buy as well. Oftentimes, forgetting about fruits and vegetables in the fridge leeds to unecessary waste and more food in the trash. By employing these strategies, you can bring the yield increase expectancy down and hence save space and energy. The population is expected to follow an S-shaped growth curve, meaning that we will eventually match birth and death rates to achieve a constant amount of people in the world. Then, we will not need to coninue increasing agricultural yield. Let's try our best to reduce food waste so that we can stay well-fed until then! Follow along with The Conscious Planet's blogs to learn more sustainability tips.