Difference between revisions of "Food/Intro"
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| − | + | Many people believe that as the population is rising, we are facing a global food shortage. 40% of farming land is now {{wp|Land_degradation|depleted}}, rainforests must be cut down to make room for more farming and as droves of people move from farms into cities, and their appetite for meat is growing<sup>[http://oecdinsights.org/2010/02/19/cashing-in-on-cows/]</sup>, food demand is rising, while the ability to supply it is falling. | |
| − | + | What this analysis misses is that it is in no way necessary to produce food in the massively inefficient ways used to paint this dire picture. The food shortage is really a shortage of applying [[Fundamental resources/Human intelligence|know-how]] to food production. While certain farming methods do deplete soil, thereby reducing the amount of useful land, other farming methods (like permaculture, discussed below) reliably increase the fertility of the soil. | |
| − | + | It is often said that it requires 16 kilos of grain to produce one kilo of beef. For this reason it has been argued that we must all become vegetarian to avoid a food crisis<sup>[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/global-food-shortage-fear/story-e6frf7l6-1111115339654]</sup>. This makes the assumption that cows must be fed grain. Cows eat grass. Grass is not edible by humans, so no useful food resources are being wasted, and beef from grass-fed cows has a better nutritional profile than from grain-fed animals<sup>[http://www.nwhealth.edu/healthyu/eatWell/grassfed.html]</sup>. Similar logic applies to other kinds of meat. | |
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| + | Estimates of how much land is required to grow a person's food vary, but 60-100m<sup>2</sup> seems reasonable, if modern techniques of organic permaculture are used. (That means you could grow enough food for 4-7 people on an area the size of a basketball court.) In cities with high population densities, it would be desirable to reduce this even further. | ||
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| + | This planet has 31,800,000km<sup>2</sup>, or 31.8 trillion m<sup>2</sup>, of {{wp|Arable_land|fertile land}}. Even taking a pessimistic estimate of 200m<sup>2</sup> farming land per person, this would grow enough food for 159 billion people. | ||
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| + | Food supplies can be made more resilient by decentralizing production. [[Decentralization|Decentralized]] food production would mean a reduction in transport costs and would preserve the freshness and nutritional value of our food and eliminate the need for harmful preservatives, energy-expensive refrigeration and food storage. Most importantly, it would create resilience; no one would starve due to the inefficiency and injustice of the distribution of our food-resources. | ||
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| + | However, traditional methods of decentralized food production are rather labour-intensive. For many people, growing their own food is a very enjoyable and rewarding sort of labour that they willingly devote their energies to. Others would like the option of avoiding this labour. For those folk, it is now possible to [[Advanced automation|automate]] food production (see below). | ||
Revision as of 15:37, 6 July 2010
Many people believe that as the population is rising, we are facing a global food shortage. 40% of farming land is now depleted 
, rainforests must be cut down to make room for more farming and as droves of people move from farms into cities, and their appetite for meat is growing[1], food demand is rising, while the ability to supply it is falling.
What this analysis misses is that it is in no way necessary to produce food in the massively inefficient ways used to paint this dire picture. The food shortage is really a shortage of applying know-how to food production. While certain farming methods do deplete soil, thereby reducing the amount of useful land, other farming methods (like permaculture, discussed below) reliably increase the fertility of the soil.
It is often said that it requires 16 kilos of grain to produce one kilo of beef. For this reason it has been argued that we must all become vegetarian to avoid a food crisis[2]. This makes the assumption that cows must be fed grain. Cows eat grass. Grass is not edible by humans, so no useful food resources are being wasted, and beef from grass-fed cows has a better nutritional profile than from grain-fed animals[3]. Similar logic applies to other kinds of meat.
Estimates of how much land is required to grow a person's food vary, but 60-100m2 seems reasonable, if modern techniques of organic permaculture are used. (That means you could grow enough food for 4-7 people on an area the size of a basketball court.) In cities with high population densities, it would be desirable to reduce this even further.
This planet has 31,800,000km2, or 31.8 trillion m2, of fertile land . Even taking a pessimistic estimate of 200m2 farming land per person, this would grow enough food for 159 billion people.
Food supplies can be made more resilient by decentralizing production. Decentralized food production would mean a reduction in transport costs and would preserve the freshness and nutritional value of our food and eliminate the need for harmful preservatives, energy-expensive refrigeration and food storage. Most importantly, it would create resilience; no one would starve due to the inefficiency and injustice of the distribution of our food-resources.
However, traditional methods of decentralized food production are rather labour-intensive. For many people, growing their own food is a very enjoyable and rewarding sort of labour that they willingly devote their energies to. Others would like the option of avoiding this labour. For those folk, it is now possible to automate food production (see below).
