Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Greener Food Production Needed To Feed World Of 2050


According to the UN, at its Annual Survey of Economics and Social Trends, world food production will need to increase by 100 percent and focus on greener methods by 2050. As the the world population continues to increase (9 billion by 2050), more sustainable routes will need to be established.

The Survey called for governments to invest at least $2 trillion a year to help small scale farming to reduce the amount of environmental harm and sustain the growing population.

However, only a fraction of the small investment goal has been reached so far. The World Bank has allocated $20 billion in climate change funds in order to help developing countries enhance clean energy technology and sustainable farming.

The UN Survey stated that the 2007-2008 food crisis and elevated food prices really "revealed deep structural problems within the global food system" that need to be addressed.

The Survey also said that 925 million people, that is more than one in every seven, are undernourished. Nearly all of them live in developing countries.

-Gabrielle Gurian

SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST