Feeding a World Population of More than Eight Billion People

Feeding a World Population of More than Eight Billion People
Author: J. C. Waterlow
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 297
Release: 1998-07-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0195354494

Since the 1960s, breakthroughs in agriculture have made it possible to satisfy the world's increasing requirements for food. Can this trend continue over the next thirty years when the world population is projected to exceed eight billion? This book takes a critical look at the immediate challenges for feeding the population just a generation from now. Based on the 10th International Symposium sponsored by the Nutrition Committee and the Trustees of the Rank Prize Funds, the volume examines the full range of related issues, from food economics to resource allocation and crop yields. Beginning with an analysis of future food needs, the articles cover basic resources and constraints, applications of science to increase yield, the role of animal products in feeding eight billion people, and diverse social issues. The book provides insights into some of the most important questions we will be faced with in the coming years, making it an invaluable resource for a wide range of researchers in agriculture, the environment, and public policy.

How to Feed the World

How to Feed the World
Author: Jessica Eise
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2018-03-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1610918843

By 2050, we will have ten billion mouths to feed in a world profoundly altered by environmental change. How will we meet this challenge? In How to Feed the World, a diverse group of experts from Purdue University break down this crucial question by tackling big issues one-by-one. Covering population, water, land, climate change, technology, food systems, trade, food waste and loss, health, social buy-in, communication, and equal access to food, the book reveals a complex web of challenges. Contributors unite from different perspectives and disciplines, ranging from agronomy and hydrology to economics. The resulting collection is an accessible but wide-ranging look at the modern food system.

Ten Billion

Ten Billion
Author: Stephen Emmott
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2013-09-10
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0345806468

Deforestation. Desertification. Species extinction. Global warming. Growing threats to food and water. The driving issues of our times are the result of one huge problem: Us. As the population continues to grow, our problems will increase. And this means that every way we look at it, a planet of ten billion people is likely to be a nightmare. Stephen Emmott, a scientist whose lab is at the forefront of research into complex natural systems, sounds the alarm. TEN BILLION is a snapshot of our planet, and our species, approaching a crisis, and a stark analysis of where this leaves us. TEN BILLION is not another climate book. TEN BILLION is a book about us.

Feeding the Ten Billion

Feeding the Ten Billion
Author: L. T. Evans
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 1998-11-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780521646857

A unique and accessible account of the interaction between population growth and agricultural innovation.

Feeding the World

Feeding the World
Author: Vaclav Smil
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2001-08-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780262692717

A realistic yet encouraging look at how society can change in ways that will allow us to feed an expanding global population. This book addresses the question of how we can best feed the ten billion or so people who will likely inhabit the Earth by the middle of the twenty-first century. He asks whether human ingenuity can produce enough food to support healthy and vigorous lives for all these people without irreparably damaging the integrity of the biosphere. What makes this book different from other books on the world food situation is its consideration of the complete food cycle, from agriculture to post-harvest losses and processing to eating and discarding. Taking a scientific approach, Smil espouses neither the catastrophic view that widespread starvation is imminent nor the cornucopian view that welcomes large population increases as the source of endless human inventiveness. He shows how we can make more effective use of current resources and suggests that if we increase farming efficiency, reduce waste, and transform our diets, future needs may not be as great as we anticipate. Smil's message is that the prospects may not be as bright as we would like, but the outlook is hardly disheartening. Although inaction, late action, or misplaced emphasis may bring future troubles, we have the tools to steer a more efficient course. There are no insurmountable biophysical reasons we cannot feed humanity in the decades to come while easing the burden that modern agriculture puts on the biosphere.

Can We Feed the World Without Destroying It?

Can We Feed the World Without Destroying It?
Author: Eric Holt-Gimenez
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 61
Release: 2019-02-25
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1509522042

Nearly a third of the world’s population suffers from hunger or malnutrition. Feeding them – and the projected population of 10 billion people by 2050 – has become a high-profile challenge for states, philanthropists, and even the Fortune 500. This has unleashed a steady march of initiatives to double food production within a generation. But will doing so tax the resources of our planet beyond its capacity? In this sobering essay, scholar-practitioner Eric Holt-Giménez argues that the ecological impact of doubling food production would be socially and environmentally catastrophic and would not feed the poor. We have the technology, resources, and expertise to feed everyone. What is needed is a thorough transformation of the global food regime – one that increases equity while producing food and reversing agriculture’s environmental impacts.​

The World’s Challenge

The World’s Challenge
Author: Marion Guillou
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2014-07-08
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9401785694

If a global population of 9 billion by 2050 is to be fed adequately, more food must be produced and this in keeping with increasingly stringent standards of quality and with respect for the environment. Not to mention the land that must be set aside for the production of energy resources, industrial goods, carbon storage and the protection of biodiversity.

Population 10 Billion

Population 10 Billion
Author: Danny Dorling
Publisher: Constable
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2013-06-20
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1780338783

Before May 2011 the top demographics experts of the United Nations had suggested that world population would peak at 9.1 billion in 2100, and then fall to 8.5 billion people by 2150. In contrast, the 2011 revision suggested that 9.1 billion would be achieved much earlier, maybe by 2050 or before, and by 2100 there would be 10.1 billion of us. What's more, they implied that global human population might still be slightly rising in our total numbers a century from now. So what shall we do? Are there too many people on the planet? Is this the end of life as we know it? Distinguished geographer Professor Danny Dorling thinks we should not worry so much and that, whatever impending doom may be around the corner, we will deal with it when it comes. In a series of fascinating chapters he charts the rise of the human race from its origins to its end-point of population 10 billion. Thus he shows that while it took until about 1988 to reach 5 billion we reached 6 billion by 2000, 7 billion eleven years later and will reach 8 billion by 2025. By recording how we got here, Dorling is able to show us the key issues that we face in the coming decades: how we will deal with scarcity of resources; how our cities will grow and become more female; why the change that we should really prepare for is the population decline that will occur after 10 billion. Population 10 Billion is a major work by one of the world's leading geographers and will change the way you think about the future. Packed full of counter-intuitive ideas and observations, this book is a tool kit to prepare for the future and to help us ask the right questions

Understanding the Changing Planet

Understanding the Changing Planet
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2010-07-23
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309150752

From the oceans to continental heartlands, human activities have altered the physical characteristics of Earth's surface. With Earth's population projected to peak at 8 to 12 billion people by 2050 and the additional stress of climate change, it is more important than ever to understand how and where these changes are happening. Innovation in the geographical sciences has the potential to advance knowledge of place-based environmental change, sustainability, and the impacts of a rapidly changing economy and society. Understanding the Changing Planet outlines eleven strategic directions to focus research and leverage new technologies to harness the potential that the geographical sciences offer.