How can we feed a growing population despite climate change?
As the global population grows, so do food needs. As a result, agricultural yield needs to be increased.
In the past, this was done with the help of fertilisers and pesticides, or by clearing forests to “win” new arable land. But these methods pollute the environment. Climate change, in turn, leads to droughts and famines.
How can we produce food for a growing population and at the same time reduce poverty and hunger, and protect biodiversity? What do you think? Join the discussion!
From the article How consumers in rich countries drive global deforestation
The simple fastest solution is to switch society to a vegan diet. The animal industry is a bigger factor in climate change than the entire transportation system!
Not to mention the animal suffering, there are many issues that make this system unsustainable.
Large areas of land used to grow animal feed would be enough to feed millions of people.
Die einfache schnellste Lösung ist die Umstellung auf eine vegane Ernährung der Gesellschaft. Die Tierindustrie ist ein grösserer Faktor zum Klimawandel als das gesamte Verkehrssystem!
Ganz zu Schweigen von dem Tierleid gibt es viele Punkte, die dieses System nicht mehr tragbar machen.
Grosse Landflächen die zum Anbau für Tierfutter genutzt werden, würden ausreichen um Millionen Menschen zu ernähren.
Why continuously blame the animal world? Animals have existed a very long time - the problem is with all the industrial polluters who haven't been around as long as animals. But of course, so much easier to blame animals who can't defend themselves than to take polluters to task on account of rampant corruption.
Hello,
A good solution, or rather, it would be of great value to raise bees for there to be an excellent pollination of all crop species and consequently greatly increase food production.
We know that due to the use of agro toxics in the crops all over the planet and generating almost the extinction of the species.
Many fruits and vegetables rich in nutrients depend on pollination. Moreover, the diversity of insects increases crop yields, ensuring food security, and food plants are dependent on pollinators.
If we were to increase the number of bees, which in my view are the best pollinators, we would be guaranteeing, and why not say doubling, the volume of harvests.
For example, the jataí bee can be kept even on the balcony of an apartment.
Olá,
Uma boa solução, ou melhor, seria de grande valia a criação de abelhas para que haja uma excelente polinização de todas as espécies de plantações e consequentemente aumentaria em muito a produção de alimentos.
Sabemos que devido ao uso de agrotóxicos nas lavouras em todo o planeta e gerando quase que a extinção da espécie.
Muitas frutas e legumes ricos em nutrientes dependem da polinização. Além disso, a diversidade de insetos aumenta o rendimento das colheitas, garantindo a segurança alimentar, sendo que as plantas alimentícias são dependentes de polinizadores.
Aumentássemos em grande quantidade a criação de abelhas que são do meu ponto de vista as melhores polinizadoras, estaríamos garantindo, e porque não se dizer dobrando o volume das colheitas.
Por exemplo a abelha da espécie jataí pode ser criada até mesmo na varanda de um apartamento.
Hello,
Wouldn't one of the solutions be to increase the number of small subsidized farms? Large farms -not to mention their environmental nuisances- most often practice intensive agriculture. Their objective is profitability, which cannot be blamed on any company. On the other hand, small farmers distribute their products locally, have practices that are more respectful of the land, have a more responsible policy (it seems to me) of soil, water and fertilizer management... I know in an isolated French Pyrenean region a whole group of farmers (often organic) who manage to live from their agriculture thanks to the sale of their products (which they sell directly to the consumer within a radius of 20 to 30 km) and to the help of the state that they receive indirectly in the form of active solidarity income (RSA).
This little reflection obviously concerns European countries. But I also live in Morocco where the problem is quite different: no state aid, so a not very high income for these small producers. As far as large-scale production is concerned, we can see what is happening in Europe. If in Europe the problem of intensive agriculture is the depletion of the land, the use of phytosanitary products and chemical fertilizers, in Morocco intensive agriculture, which causes the same problems, also has water problems. Today the wilaya of Oujda, after that of Marrakech, has just triggered a restriction of "agricultural water" by giving priority to water for human consumption.
Bonjour,
Une des solutions ne serait-elle pas l'augmentation de petites structures agricoles subventionnées ? Les grandes exploitations agricoles -sans parler de leurs nuisances environnementales- pratiquent le plus souvent l'agriculture intensive. Leur objectif est la rentabilité, ce qu'on ne peut pas reprocher à une entreprise, quelle qu'elle soit. En revanche, les petits agriculteurs distribuent leurs produits localement , ont des pratiques plus respectueuses de la terre , ont une politique plus responsable (il me semble) de la gestion du sol, de l'eau, des fertilisants... Je connais dans une région pyrénéenne française isolée tout un groupes d'agriculteurs (souvent bio) qui réussissent à vivre de leur agriculture grâce à la vente de leurs produits (qu'ils vendent directement au consommateur ans un rayon de 20 à 30 km) et à l'aide de l'état qu'ils reçoivent indirectement sous forme de revenu de solidarité active (RSA) .
Cette petite réflexion concerne évidemment des pays européens. Mais je vis également au Maroc où la problématique est sensiblement différente: pas d'aide de l'état, donc un revenu pas très élevé pour ces petits producteurs. Pour ce qui est de la grande production, on rejoint un peu ce qui se passe en Europe. Si en Europe le problème de l'agriculture intensive est l'épuisement de la terre, l'utilisation de phytosanitaires et d'engrais chimiques, au Maroc l'agriculture intensive qui entraîne les mêmes problèmes connaît aussi celui de l'eau. Aujourd'hui la wilaya d'Oujda , après celle de Marrakech vient de déclencher une restriction de "l'eau agricole" en donnant la priorité à l'eau de consommation humaine.
There is only one solution: to slow down the demography and to undertake the decrease of the species. It is useless to look for all the possible and imaginable artifices to feed an inexhaustible chain of mouths to feed.
The land is being exhausted, polluted to excess, the waters are permanently polluted with the filth of all humanity, the resources are plundered without limit.
The balance has been broken, it was the case with the ancient civilizations and their disappearance, it will be again the same solution in the long run.
Une seule et unique solution : freiner la démographie et entreprendre la décroissance de l'espèce. Inutile de chercher tous les artifices possibles et imaginables pour alimenter une chaine inépuisable de bouches à nourrir.
Les terres s'épuisent, se polluent à outrance, les eaux reçoivent en permanence les immondices de toute l'humanité, les ressources sont pillées sans limite.
L'équilibre a été rompu, ce fut le cas avec les anciennes civilisations et leur disparition, ce sera une nouvelle fois la même solution à terme.
Decreasing the world population to three billion people maximum!
Diminuendo la popolazione mondiale a tre miliardi di persone massimo!
The impact of deforestation of developing new agricultural areas can be addressed by requiring those who wish to develop any new agricultural land to develop new forests with plants and trees that do not consume high water.
الأثر المترتب عن إزالة الغابات لاستحداث مساحات زراعية جديدة يُمكن معالجته من خلال إلزام من يرغب في استحداث أي ارض زراعية جديدة باستحداث غابات جديدة بنباتات وأشجار لا تستهلك كمية مياه عالية.
The demographic sophism and the false belief that the current problems of hunger have their origin in overpopulation and the lack of arable land, constitutes the advanced neo-theory of the current order, the capitalist system of exploitation. Scientists and demographers, such as Edgar Morin, Jean Zegler or Noam Chomsky, affirm that, under present conditions, with the benefits of techno-scientific development, the earth can feed twice its present population. Moreover, as you recognize, a third (931 million tons) of the food produced in the world is wasted in landfills, in the production process, in consumption or in the sea, in a speculative way to "defend" prices and multiply profits.
We are witnessing a real genocide predetermined by the masters of the world. The true origins of the devastation of immense human populations are recognized by all those who have a tiny segment of conscience. The massive urbanization causing demographic imbalance and the loss of large arable land; the absurd unlimited economic growth, as a multiplying factor of the profits of companies and transnationals; the privatization of natural resources that belong to humanity, in every village; the unjust exchange relations between the south and the north; and above all the validity of capitalism as a structure of development and dispossession of man.
We harbor the hope of an awakening in our sensibility, to weave links of hope and build a new order, a new human and Christian thought, capable of building that which in the minds of millions of defenseless human beings, is only a heavenly hope. We are capable of uniting our wills to destroy this disease of enrichment and the insane accumulation of the strongest.
God bless everyone
El sofisma demográfico y la falsa creencia de que los problemas actuales del hambre tienen su origen en la sobrepoblación y en la falta de suelos cultivables, constituye la neo teoría avanzada del orden actual, el sistema capitalista de explotación. Científicos y demógrafos, como Edgar Morin, Jean Zegler o Noam Chomsky, afirman que, en las condiciones actuales, con los beneficios del desarrollo tecnocientífico, la tierra puede alimentar el doble de su población actual. Además, como vosotros lo reconocéis, un tercio (931 millones de tones), de los alimentos que se producen en el mundo, se desperdician en los basureros, en el proceso de producción, en el consumo o en el mar, de manera especulativa para "defender" los precios y multiplicar los beneficios.
Asistimos a un verdadero genocidio predeterminado por los amos del mundo. Los verdaderos orígenes de la devastación de inmensas poblaciones humanas son reconocidos por todos aquellos que tienen un minúsculo segmento de conciencia. La urbanización masiva causante del desequilibrio demográfico y la perdida de grandes superficies cultivables; el absurdo crecimiento económico ilimitado, como factor multiplicativo de las ganancias de empresas y transnacionales; la privatización de recursos naturales que pertenecen a la humanidad, en cada pueblo; las injustas relaciones de intercambio entre el sur y el norte; y sobre todo la vigencia del capitalismo como estructura desarrollo y despojo del hombre.
Albergamos la esperanza de un despertar en nuestra sensibilidad, para tejer eslabones de esperanza y construir un orden nuevo, un nuevo pensamiento humano y cristiano, capaz de construir aquello que en la mente de millones de indefensos seres humanos, solo es una esperanza celestial. Somo capaces de unir nuestras voluntades, para destruir esta enfermedad del enriquecimiento y de la acumulación demencial de los más fuertes.
Dios bendiga a todos
You forget that men have turned the earth into a monumental garbage can, polluting all its resources.
Vous oubliez que les hommes ont fait de la terre une monumentale poubelle polluant la totalité des ressources.
Adopt a healthier diet, reduce large-scale meat production, so that we can feed more people instead of using agricultural resources to feed animals for slaughter.
Adopter une alimentation plus saine, réduire la production de viande à grande échelle, pour pouvoir nourrir plus de personnes au lieu d'utiliser les ressources agricoles pour nourrir des animaux destinés à l'abattage.
Good suggestions, thank you!
Gute Vorschläge, danke!
I fully agree with your answer. I did not mention that. The aging population is part of the problem. It is the snake that bites its own tail, given that we are living longer and longer. More and more births are feeding the proportion of elderly people in the medium to long term.
If we continue like this, it is bound to cause a big problem sooner or later.
Our earth and its resources are not infinite.
In just over a century we have wasted what the earth took millions of years to produce.
This overconsumption could be curbed if the big multinationals were sincerely committed.
But we are far from it. Instead, they give the impression of wanting to burn the fuse to the end.
As long as some people are lining their pockets, things will never change.
Or they will shift the problem to ecology. Which unfortunately has become a very lucrative business that once again benefits some.
And to come back to the root of the problem, we could possibly slow down the problem in the short and medium term. But in the long term?
Personally I'm not really confident in meat and other foods created in laboratories.
I sincerely hope that the future will prove me wrong.
But all big empires have always ended up disappearing. And I think our capitalist empire is on the decline.
Je suis entièrement d’accord avec votre réponse. J’avais effectivement omis de le préciser. Le vieillissement de la population fait partie du problème. C’est le serpent qui se mord la queue, étant donné que l’on vit toujours plus vieux. Toujours plus de naissances alimente à moyen-long terme la proportion de personnes âgées.
Si l’on continue ainsi, forcément que çà va poser un gros problème tôt ou tard.
Notre terre et ses ressources ne sont pas infinies.
En a peine plus d’un siècle nous avons gaspillé ce que la terre à mis des millions d’années à produire.
On pourrait freiner cette surconsommation, si les grosses multinationales s’investissaient sincèrement.
Mais on en est loin. Ils donnent plutôt l’impression de vouloir brûler la mèche jusqu’au bout.
Tant que certaines personnes s’en mettent plein les poches, cela ne changera jamais.
Ou alors on déplacera le problème sur l’écologie. Qui malheureusement est devenu un business très lucratif qui une fois de plus profite à certains.
Et pour en revenir au fond du problème, on pourrait éventuellement ralentir le problème à court et à moyen terme. Mais à long terme?
Personnellement je ne suis pas vraiment confiant en de la viande et autres aliments créés en laboratoires.
J’espère sincèrement que l’avenir me donnera tort.
Mais tout les gros empires ont toujours finis par disparaître. Et je pense que notre empire capitaliste est sur le déclin.
Thank you very much for your answer! Unfortunately, I have a similarly pessimistic view as you. There are no simple solutions.
Vielen Dank für Ihre Antwort! Ich sehe das leider ähnlich pessimistisch wie Sie. Einfache Lösungen gibt es nicht.
At the request of Sibilla Bondolfi, here is the translation of the blurb from Colin Tudge "The Great Re-Think":
"All too plausibly, it seems, popes and scientists warn us of impending collapse - but humanity and our fellow creatures could still look forward to a long and glorious future: at least a million years of peace and personal fulfillment, with abundance and diverse wildlife. But to achieve this, we must rethink everything we do and take for granted, from the mundane things of growing and cooking, to economics and methods of government, to the most arcane areas of science and metaphysics. It all boils down to the fact that a renaissance - a rebirth - must be driven and led by us, the ordinary Joes and Janes. The current oligarchy of governments, corporations, financiers and their associated intellectuals dominate the world, but they have largely lost touch with the moral and ecological realities of life. This transformation will not be easy, but - the good news! - Millions of grassroots initiatives of all kinds around the world are already moving in the right direction.
Auf Wunsch von Sibilla Bondolfi hier die Übersetzung des Klappentexts von Colin Tudge "The Great Re-Think":
"Allzu plausibel, so scheint es, warnen uns Päpste und Wissenschaftler vor dem drohenden Zusammenbruch – doch die Menschheit und unsere Mitgeschöpfe könnten sich noch auf eine lange und glorreiche Zukunft freuen: mindestens eine Million Jahre Frieden und persönliche Erfüllung, mit Überfluss und vielfältigen Tierwelt. Aber um dies zu erreichen, müssen wir alles überdenken, was wir tun und für selbstverständlich halten, von den alltäglichen Dingen des Anbauens und Kochens über die Ökonomie und Regierungsmethoden, bis hin zu den geheimnisvollsten Bereichen der Wissenschaft und Metaphysik. Alles läuft darauf hinaus, dass eine Renaissance – eine Wiedergeburt – von uns, den gewöhnlichen Joes und Janes, vorangetrieben und geleitet werden muss. Die gegenwärtige Oligarchie von Regierungen, Konzernen, Finanziers und ihren zugehörigen Intellektuellen dominiert die Welt, doch sie hat den Bezug zu den moralischen und ökologischen Realitäten des Lebens weitgehend verloren. Diese Transformation wird nicht einfach werden, aber – die gute Nachricht! – Millionen von Basisinitiativen aller Art auf der ganzen Welt bewegen sich bereits in die richtige Richtung.
Thank you for the blurb! So you can imagine something under it.
Vielen Dank für den Klappentext! So kann man sich etwas darunter vorstellen.
Providing Switzerland with an American flight fleet for this line (if you mean south of the globe) and Arabs will also help with oil and fuel. They may approach the distance with Internet connections. This project should be without tickets, visas or drawings paid by the citizen and then we will tell you What's the solution!!
تزويد سويسرا بأسطول طيران أمريكي خاص بهذا الخط (إذا كنت تقصدين جنوب الكرة الارضية) والعرب سوف يساعدون أيضا بالنفط والوقود لربما تقربون المسافة مع توفر الاتصالات عبر الانترنت، ويجب أن يكون هذا المشروع بدون تذاكر أو تأشيرات أو رسومات يدفعها المواطن وبعدها سوف نقول لكم ماهو الحل !!
They refrain from having multiple children, whether in the name of God, or to reproduce to satisfy producers.
امتنعُوا عن الانجاب المضاعف سواء كان ذلك باسم الله، أم للتكاثر إرضاء للمنتجين.
Welcome.. I think there is someone who is alive from the previous regime of Iraq, i.e. Saddam Hussein's regime... how did Iraqis resist the economic blockade imposed on them by the international community under the command of America and its allies... So much so that the World Nutrition Organization took the experience of Iraq and applied it and succeeded in the reality of the state of Ethiopia, which was suffering from famine at the time.
اهلا بكم .. أظن انه يُوجد من هو حيّ من النظام السابق للعراق أي نظام صدام حسين ...كيف استطاع العراقيون مقاومة الحصار الاقتصادي المفروض عليهم من المجتمع الدولي تحت إمرة أمريكا و حلفائها... لدرجة أن المنظمة العالمية للتغذية اخذت من تجربة العراق وتطبيقها ونجحت في واقع دولة اثيوبيا التي كانت تعاني المجاعة في ذلك الوقت..
What do you mean?
Wie meinen Sie das?
First, conduct an accurate census in the area to be helped, and then activate the role of anthropology to facilitate the integration process, and then educate and empower the population in food-deficit areas to agriculture and farm farms, and provide them with agricultural tools that do not need much maintenance and that come very effectively on them.
اولا إجراء إحصاء دقيق في المنطقة المراد مساعدتها و من ثم تفعيل دور الأنتروبولوجي لتسهيل عملية الإندماج و من ثم تعليم و تمكين السكان في المناطق التي تعاني من نقص الغذاء على الزراعة و تربية الدواحن و إمدادهم بالأدوات الزراعية التي لا تحتاج الكثير من الصيانة و التي تأتي بفعالية كبيرة عليهم.
I will certainly shock some people, but the only intelligent solution would be to reduce the birth rate. The earth has limited capacity. It's a bit like putting 15 people in an apartment with a fridge that can hold 5 people. It's obvious that at some point it will pose a problem. Unfortunately, we are in a society that hides its face and takes roundabout ways instead of facing up to the problems. Clearly, we must tackle the real problems.
Je vais certainement choquer certaines personnes, mais la seule solution intelligente serai de diminuer les naissances. La terre a des capacités limitées. C’est un peu comme mettre 15 personnes dans un appartement avec un frigo d’une capacité pour 5 personnes. C’est évident qu’à un moment ça va poser un problème. On est malheureusement dans une société qui se voile la face et emprunte des chemins détournés au-lieu de faire face aux problèmes. En clair il faut s’attaquer aux vrais problèmes.
That sounds understandable and logical. I have only one objection: Doesn't a restriction of birth rates lead later to an aging of the population and corresponding demographic problems as we already know them in Europe? (Pension financing, care costs in relation to the working population, etc.)
Das klingt nachvollziehbar und logisch. Ich habe nur einen Einwand: Führt eine Beschränkung der Geburtenraten nicht später zu einer Überalterung der Bevölkerung und entsprechenden demografischen Problemen, wie wir sie in Europa bereits kennen? (Renten-Finanzierung, Pflegekosten im Verhältnis zur arbeitenden Bevölkerung usw.)
It is important to work on the environmental framework of the countryside so that it is resistant to any degradation and that bio-ecological agriculture will only improve this framework over time.
See https://eauterreverdure.org/
Il est important de travailler sur le cadre environnemental des campagnes afin qu'il soit résistant à toute dégradation et que l'agriculture bioécologique ne fasse qu'améliorer ce cadre avec le temps.
Confère https://eauterreverdure.org/
The answers are offered by biologist Colin Tudge in his book "The Great Re-Think: A 21st Cetury Renaissance", which is also a great replica of "The Great Re-Set" by the founder of the WEF, Klaus Schwab.
Die Antworten bietet der Biologe Colin tudge in seinem Buch "The Great Re-Think: A 21st Cetury Renaissance", das gleichzeitig eine grossartige Replik auf "The Great Re-Set" vom Gründer des WEF, Klaus Schwab ist.
That sounds interesting, thanks for the tip? Can you briefly outline the content of the book?
Das klingt interessant, danke für den Hinweis? Können Sie den Inhalt des Buches kurz umreissen?
SWISSAID believes it is particularly important that women farmers are listened to. Today, we have published a study that gives them a voice. You can find the study together with the abridged version and other materials here: https://www.swissaid.ch/de/beitraege/hoert-uns-endlich-zu/
Wichtig erscheint uns SWISSAID vor allem, dass den Bäuerinnen zugehört wird. Wir haben heute dazu eine Studie veröffentlicht, die ihnen die Stimme gibt. Sie finden die Studie zusammen mit der Kurzfassung und weiteren Materialien hier: https://www.swissaid.ch/de/beitraege/hoert-uns-endlich-zu/
A first serious step would be to think about how to organize food production in a way other than the capitalist mode of production, which is essentially the full power of large groups and their shareholders (capital) who use their political power over the state and over media and school ideology, as well as their size and opaque influence over the market (which destroys the smallest), to execute the only concrete objective of this interest group: the growth of the invested capital (in other words, profits, profitability at all costs). As long as we let them control production, there will only be growth in production with no regard for soils and forests, and with no regard for the quality and type of food produced (excessive beef, poor quality chemical food, etc.). This is the main issue for food and for everything else
Un premier pas sérieux serait de penser comment organiser la production de nourriture selon une autre manière que le mode de production capitaliste, qui est essentiellement le plein pouvoir de grands groupes et de leurs actionnaires (le capital) qui utilisent leur pouvoir politique sur l'état et sur l'idéologie médiatique et scolaire, ainsi que leur taille et influence opaque sur le marché (qui détruit les plus petits), pour exécuter le seul objectif concret de ce groupe d'intérêt: la croissance du capital investi (autrement dit les profits, la rentabilité à tout prix). Tant que nous leur laissons la main sur la production, il n'y aura que croissance de la production au mépris des sols et des forêts, et au mépris de la qualité et du type d'aliment produit (boeuf à outrance, nourriture chimique de piètre qualité, etc.) Ceci est la question principale pour la nourriture et pour tout le reste
Agreed. The power to shape the future belongs in the hands of the numerous small women entrepreneurs who manage the fields agroecologically. The current study on this: https://swissaid.kinsta.cloud/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2021-09-SWISSAID-Bericht_final.pdf
Einverstanden. Die Gestaltungsmacht gehört in die Hände der zahlreichen Kleinunternehmerinnen, die agroökologisch den Acker bewirtschaften. Die aktuelle Studie dazu: https://swissaid.kinsta.cloud/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2021-09-SWISSAID-Bericht_final.pdf
Imposing birth limitation and thus using children as an economic adjustment variable serves no purpose: rich countries have had declining demographics for decades and are now measuring the resulting problems. Moreover, a measure forgotten in the one-child policy: living alone between two parents is frustrating, boring and often painful. Another remark: until now, only men have proposed this solution. And what do women think about it, as they are already responsible for contraception alone?
The lever on which we should rather work: the equitable distribution of food on the planet. Taking into account the food waste to be eradicated and a purely vegetarian consumption, we could manage. We would all be involved and would not discriminate against women or children.
Imposer la limitation des naissances et donc se servir de l'enfant comme variable d'ajustement économique ne sert à rien : les pays riches, depuis des décennies, ont une démographie en baisse et mesurent aujourd'hui les problèmes qui en découlent. De plus une mesure oubliée dans la politique de l'enfant unique : vivre seul-e entre ses 2 parents est frustrant, ennuyeux et souvent douloureux. Autre remarque : jusqu'à présent, seuls des hommes proposent cette solution. Et les femmes qu'en pensent-elles, elles qui assument déjà seules la contraception ?
Le levier sur lequel nous devons plutôt travailler : la répartition équitable des denrées sur la planète. En tenant compte du gaspillage alimentaire à éradiquer et une consommation uniquement végétarienne, nous pourrions nous en sortir. Nous serions tous impliqués et ne discriminerions ni les femmes ni les enfants.
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