The World is Changing, We are Growing and We are Hungry

Welcome to my new blog! In the coming months I will explore how we can best feed the 7.5 billion people that live on our planet. I will look at the impact the food system has on our environment, how it can be improved and what the future of food production might look like.

Why am I writing a blog on this you ask? It comes down to the following three things:

The world is changing
Since the 1950s our world has undergone a period of massive growth in regards to population, economy and consumption known as 'The Great Acceleration'. Earth system trends such as carbon dioxide levels, ocean acidification and tropical forest loss have simultaneously skyrocketed. This has led to many proposing a new epoch called 'The Anthropocene' starting at the beginning of the acceleration, when human impact on the environment became so significant. 

I want to know: How has the acceleration changed the way we produce food and how do the ways we produce food contribute to the acceleration?

The first detonation of a nuclear weapon, taken in New Mexico 
on 16th July 1945, has been proposed as the start of the Anthropocene

We are growing
Since 1950 our population has increased from 2.5 billion to 7.6 billion, and by 2050 we are expected to grow to over 9 billion. I want to know: How did food production catch up with this increase and how will it continue to in the future?



We are hungry
Food production is something that effects all 7.5 billion of us: we all need to eat. However the way we produce food now is, for the most part, unsustainable and damaging to the environment. I will explore this in more detail in future posts but here is a brief overview: 

I want to know: How can we change this? What will our future look like?



I look forward to answering  these questions  in the next few months and I hope you enjoy reading!


Photo credits: Berlyn Brixner and Qantas Airways
Location: Gower St, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 6BT, UK

Comments

  1. Unknown15 October 2017 at 05:20

    I really enjoyed your first blog post, it sounds like it will be a very interesting series of blogs. I recommend checking out the dust bowl of the 1930s that devastated the agricultural economies of the Canadian and American prairies. It exemplifies how a local environmental change ipacted food production and livelihoods of the people involved.

    Also this article might be of interest to you! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28858289

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown15 October 2017 at 06:03

      Thanks so much! I’ll have a look into the dust bowl and the article!

      Delete
  2. Andrew Wells19 October 2017 at 09:15

    Hey! A very interesting topic. I'm currently reading a book called farmageddon: the true cost of cheap meat which relates a lot to your topic. I would highly recommend it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown20 October 2017 at 06:27

      Thanks! Sounds interesting, I will check it out!

      Delete

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