This article debunks the idea that starvation in the world is caused by inability to grow enough food. In fact, the world already has the capability to feed 14 million, and "food crisis" is marketed to sell more profitable industrial agribusiness and crush movements toward food localism (which can't compete in quantity-of-production with agribusiness, or at least so it is claimed). Excess food production is now used to create biofuels, among other things.
What the article doesn't discuss is how starvation is actually caused by poverty. Some people can't afford to buy even the cheap food. And that problem in many places is ironically caused by low food prices (thanks to agribusiness and so-called-trade-agreements) which make it impossible for peasants to make a living in the traditional way--by growing food on a small scale. So, ironically, many potential small scale farms lie in disuse, and are in danger of being taken over by plantations which will lead to even more poverty.
Long term, of course, the best path toward sustainable everything is a managed decline in human population through reduction of fertility. Even though we "can" grow enough food to feed even a much larger population than we have now, that food production (as well as the people's other activities of course) has a huge negative impact on the natural environment, no matter how it is done (though especially through the world domination of agribusiness--whose methods are the worst for the environment, and the least sustainable, despite having low prices today).
What the article doesn't discuss is how starvation is actually caused by poverty. Some people can't afford to buy even the cheap food. And that problem in many places is ironically caused by low food prices (thanks to agribusiness and so-called-trade-agreements) which make it impossible for peasants to make a living in the traditional way--by growing food on a small scale. So, ironically, many potential small scale farms lie in disuse, and are in danger of being taken over by plantations which will lead to even more poverty.
Long term, of course, the best path toward sustainable everything is a managed decline in human population through reduction of fertility. Even though we "can" grow enough food to feed even a much larger population than we have now, that food production (as well as the people's other activities of course) has a huge negative impact on the natural environment, no matter how it is done (though especially through the world domination of agribusiness--whose methods are the worst for the environment, and the least sustainable, despite having low prices today).
Greetings from the very deep right. Food production is still important for countries to develop. A major reason for continuing overall underdevelopment in Ghana and other African countries is the dependency on food imports.
ReplyDeletehttp://jpohl.blogspot.com/2014/03/africa-can-and-should-feed-itself.html