Beatriz Dos Santos

English 102

Professor Craig

18 April, 2017

Nine Billion Mouths

Considering our relatively modern world of today—one where you can go grocery shopping

online and even have it delivered to your house; where food is a pretext of nearly any social event—the

possibility of a major food crisis may seem covert and far from reality. Unfortunately, it is not, and

accepting the facts and acting on solutions now can help reduce the calculated damage, as well as other

unforeseen risks. With a combination of rapid rises in population, issues concerning global warming,

agricultural practices, poverty, and current rich diets dependent on resources that are slowly becoming

less available, feeding the future is a problem worth attention, as it will greatly reduce the world’s

resources as well as putting your own diet at risk. Scientists, as pointed out by the noted expert and food

security specialist Evan Fraser from the University of Guelph, figure we’ll need 50% more food by 2050

(Fraser), when the world population is estimated to have reached 9.7 billion (World Population). This

increasing demand for food will consequently entail more resources, such as land and water, than we

could possibly meet.

To exacerbate the issue, this is all happening at relatively the same time as high energy prices and

climate change make food harder and more expensive to produce (Fraser). Within the steps that can be

taken to prevent a global food crisis, perhaps one of the most efficient one is in the individual level:

controlling your own diet. To better understand how personal efforts could alleviate much of our current

and potential future world hunger, we must first look at the situation, the facts, and the associated risks.

For thousands of years, population grew only slowly, but in recent centuries it has jumped

dramatically. As shown in the graph below, between 1900 and 2000 the increase in world population was

three times greater than the entire previous history of humanity– an increase from 1.5 to 6.1 billion in

just 100 years (Roser).

The most responsible cause for this appears to be from the tremendously significant difference between

the birth and death rate, which is explained by world changing advancements in modern medicine and

technology. Unfortunately, this growth weighs heavy in the hands of our so limited resources and affects

people everywhere through its impact on the economy and environment. According to a United Nations

report, the growth will be mainly in developing countries, with more than half in Africa (Roser), which

highlights the major concern and effect of poverty and food distribution towards the food crisis. The

question to be asked now is can we meet this rising demand? And if so, how?

The effects of climate change, which predict that the world will become hotter and dryer in some

key regions, on food production will depend mostly on specific geography. While crops are likely to

flourish in areas such as parts of Canada that will enjoy longer growing seasons, other areas are likely to

suffer, such as much of Africa and in some of our most important grain producing regions like the US

Great Plains and Australia (Fraser). One critical period in which temperatures are a major factor is the

pollination stage; pollen release is related to development of fruit, grain, or fiber. Exposure to elevated

temperatures during this period can greatly reduce crop yields and increase the risk of total crop failure.

Changing climatic conditions affect animal agriculture just as much, particularly, in these four

predominant ways: 1) feed-grain production, availability, and price; 2) pastures and forage crop

production and quality; 3) animal health, growth, and reproduction; and 4) disease and pest distributions

(Agriculture). Increases in extreme temperature events may become more likely for animals, placing them

under conditions where their efficiency in meat, milk, or egg production is negatively affected, as studies

from the National Climate Assessment with a team of over 300 experts have shown (Agriculture).

Agricultural practices alone directly represent farmers’ response to these main issues in respect to

food production for the future. Needless to say, the first concern to be considered is the worldwide

dependence on the need to increase crop production, either by increasing the amount of agricultural land

to grow crops or by enhancing productivity on existing agricultural lands through fertilizer and irrigation

and adopting new methods. farmers, trading companies, and other processing groups need to commit to

deforestation-free supply chains. Deforestation causes rapid and irreversible losses of biodiversity, is the

second largest source of carbon dioxide emissions after fossil fuels, and has contributed greatly to global

warming—adding to the negative pressure on agriculture production for which these forests were cleared

in the first place. Science and technology can help introduce farmers to more effective methods and

practices of crop yield. One type of biotechnology, for example, is called Genetic Modification and

happens when scientists manipulate a plant’s (or animal’s) DNA to favor a certain trait, such as resistance

to drought. Scientists that support genetically modified organisms – or GMOs – claim that these will be

necessary to ensure our crops are productive and resilient enough to provide adequate food in the future

by allowing us to create new super crops that will be 50% more productive than current ones (Elferink).

Its opponents, in contrast, claim that they are a serious environmental risk while also strongly supporting

natural food’s taste over artificial. Despite GMOs being one of the most controversial aspects of the food

system today, it is still important to consider its benefits while understanding our so limited options, since

providing enough food for the world becomes a higher priority. Besides, biotech can make food healthier,

giving lettuce a greater concentration of nutrients, reducing starch in potatoes or lowering the saturated-

fat content of cooking oils. Studies suggest genes introduced into GMO tomatoes can increase their

natural production of antioxidants that might help prevent cancer or heart disease (Elferink).

With the rise in world population forecasted to mostly take place in the developing countries,

poverty and poor food distribution consequently worsen. "What we have is a distribution problem and an

income problem," said Emelie Peine, a professor of international politics and economy at the University

of Puget Sound, "People aren't getting the food, ... and even if [they] did, they don't have enough money

to buy it" (qtd. in Koba). In the undeveloped countries, where the poor does not have enough money to

buy food, the waste happens before the food gets to people, from lack of roads and proper storage

facilities. In the developed countries, where the rich indulge to excess, it's the staggering amount of food

that's thrown out after it gets to our plates. This difference in worlds represent the real tragedy of

starvation in a world of plenty. Follow the graph below representing a current global view on the distinct

levels of nourishment and undernourishment.

The United Nations data show there are almost 2800 calories produced on the planet per person per day,

more than enough for everyone alive to live a healthy life. However, because our food is unevenly

distributed, and because we waste roughly one third of our food, there are about 870 million hungry

people on the planet and 1.5 billion overweight or obese adults (Fraser). While poverty and distribution

issues may not directly affect everyone, the reality of this scarcity is too large to ignore and yet crucial

enough to continue to weigh in the negativity of our food practices. Briefly stepping aside from the large

scale, let’s analyze the situation from a closer and more relatable perspective.

This paper will now focus on individual choices and how they worsen or better each mentioned

situation or issue, with a primary focus on a meat containing diet. What’s on your plate can impact the

environment in so many ways that if you knew, you would consider reducing, eliminating, or replacing

meats and other animal products with vegetarian

options. We use vast amounts of land, water, and other

resources to grow grains and other plants to feed

animals who are then used for food, instead of more

efficiently feeding humans directly with plants. There

may be no other single human activity that has a bigger

impact on the planet than animal farming (Walsh), a

guilt to be shared among every consumer of meat.

Water, as one of the Earth’s most valuable and used

resource, is undoubtedly required for every and any

kind of food/crop production. However, these amounts

can easily be overlooked or ignored. Between irrigating

the crops that farmed animals eat, providing billions of

animals with drinking water each year, and washing

away the filth in factory farms, transport trucks, and slaughterhouses, the farmed-animal industry places a

tremendous strain on our water supply, that of which could have been directly used to grow other not-so-

much-water-dependent crops, such as the ones shown in the above graph.

The World Resources Institute, a global research organization dedicated to researching and

reporting the science and impact of climate change, found that about a third of the growing population

will be joining the middle class, which

generally consumes more calories as

incomes increase. The bulk of those

additional calories come from meat-based

foods, many of which are land and resource-

intensive to produce, aside from being big

emitters of greenhouse gases (Magill). While

using public transportation, shopping with

reusable bags, and taking shorter showers

are all commendable, none of these actions

has as big an impact on the environment as

what you eat does. When it comes to climate

change, animal agriculture is the leading

culprit. The animals being raised for food

emit noxious levels of CO2, methane gas,

and excrement that pollute our air and

waterways, besides being amongst the

leading cause of climate change (Climate

Change). The U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency shows that animal agriculture is the

single largest source of methane emissions in the U.S. (Climate Change). Because the animals, even when

confined, use much of the nutritional value of their food to move, keep warm, and form bone and other

inedible parts of their bodies, the entire operation is an inefficient way of feeding humans. It places

greater demands on the environment in terms of land, energy, and water than other forms of farming

(Singer 232). The illustration on the right points out different outcomes calculated comparing a meat and

a non-meat based diet.

Your ecological footprint, that is, your impact on the environment in terms of pollution, damage

to ecosystems, and the depletion of natural resources; can be dramatically reduced by cutting on meat

consumption. According to the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, it takes up to 10 pounds of

grain to produce just 1 pound of meat, and in the United States alone, 56 million acres of land are used to

grow feed for animals, while only 4 million acres are producing plants for humans to eat (Climate Change

and Animal Agriculture). Imagine if those additional 52 million acres of land, in the U.S. alone, were

available and directly fed to humans. It is simply not possible for everyone in the world to eat as much

meat as people in the affluent world now eat, because to produce that amount of meat would, in the

absence of some unforeseen advances in bioengineering, require 67% more agricultural land than the

world possesses (Singer 232-233).

Not any less importantly, food waste is a problem that should be addressed more seriously,

especially when you consider the amount of food that is being wasted, as previously mentioned. By not

wasting food, you are consequently saving money, and not to mention, giving the chance for the food to

hopefully reach hungry people, whether that is a direct or indirect cause of the choices you make.

Although this may not seem to exclusively affect meat eaters, it is those that consume meat that require

the greatest number and amount of resources, that of which could be used to better distribute our food.

When you throw away your food, you are throwing away all the resources, including water, that it takes

to grow, produce, and ship it. Consider daily techniques to avoid this waste, for example, being aware of

how much food you are cooking for the day in comparison to how much you need, how much will be

saved for later, and how you plan on effectively making use of the leftovers.

Unless the entire world is willing to have no more than one child for a few generations to come,

as a way to reverse the effect of the growing population of the world, we are forced to learn our options

regarding feeding that estimated growth instead. Besides obviously eliminating meat in its entirety, it is

highly expected that few would be willing to do this, something that is often not fully accounted for.

However, there are other solutions out there. You can better manage your food waste, or donate to and

support local farms and food businesses/companies. Choosing chicken or pork over beef, if one must keep

the comfort of meat present in their diet, has been shown to be slightly less inefficient (Singer). If there

were no – or less of a – demand for animal products, farms would convert to growing crops or else go out

of business, and humans would replace animal protein with plant protein. Finding and purchasing strictly

ethical food, including other organically healthy choices, will reduce your footprint as well. For those that

still would not dare go vegetarian, take into consideration at least how you could shape your current meat

diet to help feed the future. Remember that we are all consumers of food, and we are all affected to some

degree by the pollution that the food industry produces along with its detrimental reduction of resources

that we won’t be able to rely on in the near future. In addition to its impact on over six billion humans, the

food industry also directly affects more than fifty billion nonhuman land animals per year, controlling

almost every aspect of their lives, causing them to be brought into existence, reared in totally artificial,

factory style production units, and then slaughtered (Singer 284). Remember this is the future of perhaps

your child’s, grandchild’s, or your very own generation. Remember, we can make better choices.

Works Cited (MLA)

"Agriculture." National Climate Assessment. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

<http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/sectors/agriculture>.

"Climate Change and Animal Agriculture, Explained." PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.

<http://www.peta.org/features/climate-change-animal-agriculture-explained/>.

Elferink, Maarten, and Florian Schierhorn. "Global Demand for Food Is Rising. Can We Meet It?"

Harvard Business Review. N.p., 07 Apr. 2016. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.

<https://hbr.org/2016/04/global-demand-for-food-is-rising-can-we-meet-it>.

Fraser, Evan. "Feeding Nine Billion." Feeding9billion. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

<https://feeding9billion.com/>.

Koba, Mark. "A Hungry World: Lots of Food, in Too Few Places." CNBC. CNBC, 30 July 2013. Web.

17 Apr. 2017. <http://www.cnbc.com/id/100893540>.

Magill, Bobby. "Studies Show Link Between Red Meat and Climate Change." Climate Central. N.p., 20

Apr. 2016. Web. 17 Apr. 2017. <http://www.climatecentral.org/news/studies-link-red-meat-and-

climate-change-20264>.

Roser, Max, and Esteban Ortiz-Ospina. "World Population Growth." Our World In Data. N.p., n.d. Web.

18 Apr. 2017. <https://ourworldindata.org/world-population-growth/>.

Singer, Peter, and Jim Mason. The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter. Emmaus, PA:

Rodale, 2007. Print.

Walsh, Bryan. "The Triple Whopper Environmental Impact of Global Meat Production." Time. Time, 16

Dec. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <http://science.time.com/2013/12/16/the-triple-whopper-

environmental-impact-of-global-meat-production/>.

"World Population Projected to Reach 9.7 Billion by 2050 | UN DESA Department of Economic and

Social Affairs." United Nations. United Nations, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

<http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/2015-report.html>.