Week 2 - Main Challenges of Food Security

what are the 10 main challenges to global food security

why is the rising human population a problem?

• need more food to feed more people → placing further pressure on our limited resources

• but producing more food cannot tackle the vast amount of food wasted before and after reaching our plates

what is the current world population

over 8.2 billion people

how much more food is needed to feed the world’s population is 2050

~50% increase in global food production

how is rising income a food security challenge?

↑ economies 

• transition toward westernized diets

• ∆ in food purchasing & marketing = ↑ prices

  • → socio-political issues

western diet vs traditional diets

more grain-intensive livestock & poultry products

Issues with this

↑ meat = ↑ greenhouse gas emission

Which animal meat has best feed conversion ratio?

fish > poultry > pig > beef

what are the 3 main sources of water usage

• Mainly agriculture → pressure on freshwater resources

• Household

• Industrial use

what are the 3 reasons for water scarcity

• Population growth

• Socioeconomic growth → shifting diets 

• Climate change → melting glaciers

how is foodless days a food security problem?

Used to be dominated by surpluses → Now: scarcity

(the world’s poorest are not eating at all on some days to cope with ↑↑ grain prices)

what is the problem with soil erosion?

•  losing topsoil faster than new soil is forming

• this reduces land fertility

• threatening future food production

humus vs topsoil

• humus = thick layer of organic matter - consisting mostly of decomposing leaves & twigs

• topsoil = thin. makde up of organic material & minerals. this is the primary layer where plants & organisms live

what is the issue with flattening yields

Use of fertilizer + GMO → ↑↑ yield BUT reaching plateau

how do climate change and food production affect each other

• food production affected by increased frequency of storms, droughts & other extreme weather events

• climate change is worsened by greenhouse gas emissions, water scarcity & wider biodiversity issues

how does climate change affect our global food security?

• affect crop & livestock production (e.g., yield reductions, especially in tropical areas)

• negative impact on food availability, rural incomes & access to food

• negatively impact fisheries & aquaculture (50% of animal protein)

will the impact of food production be the same across all regions of the world?

• Impacts will be location specific & vary strongly across crops & regions

• Up to a certain point, warmer temperatures may benefit the growth of certain crops in some parts of the world

• In general, higher latitudes will tend to see smaller yield losses, or even yield gains, while yield losses in lower latitude regions are expected to be greater

how is overconsumption & waste a food security problem?

• ↑ pressure on food system

• ↑ obesity & diet-related illnesses

how much of the world’s food is lost or wasted world wide

⅓ of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted world wide

how is cost & availability of healthy diet a food security issue?

The high cost of healthy diets is associated with

• increasing food insecurity

• different forms of malnutrition (including child stunting & adult obesity)

how are pandemics a threat to food security?

• Lockdown → economic threat to food security 

  • Rising food inflation

  • Food trade restrictions (supply chain disruption)

  • Economic decline & instability

what are some potential solutions to food insecurity?

• Science, innovation & technology

• Distribution

• Local food systems

• Strong regulations

• Willingness to act

what is the “Farm-to-fork/table” strategy

= creating a sustainable food system that covers all stages from food production on farms to consumption on plates.

Published by EU Green Deal.

• Link healthy people, healthy societies & healthy planet

• Improve lifestyle, healthy & environment

what are the objectives of the “farm to fork/table” strategy

• reduce the environmental & climate footprint of the food system

• strengthen resilience to ensure food security in the face of climate change & biodiversity loss

• lead a global transition towards competitive sustainability from farm to fork

• tapping into new opportunities (research & innovation)

what are the EU’s targets for 2030 for sustainable food production

• reduce use of pesticides

• reduce nutrient losses

• reduce use of antimicrobials (for farmed animals & aquaculture)

• increase percentage of organic farming