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Text 5a
Diet
andsustainabilitykey to feedingthe world:
A foodsecurity report
One
of
the
greatest
problems
the
world
faces
is
food
security.
Starvation,malnutrition
and
associated
health
andwelfare
problems
can
best
be
addressed
by
a
systematic
policy
of
education and research.
Grave concerns about food security
havesurfaced for a number of reasons.
Firstly,there has been
a population
explosionAccording to the Royal Society,
between1930 and 2010 the world's
population grewfrom 2 billion to 6.8
billion now, with aprojected peak of 9 billion by
2050
(Black,2010).
A
further
major
cause
for
concern
isthe
impact
on
food
production
of
climatechange, brought
about by global tion growth and climate changewill
mean there is an increasing shortageof
water and of land for food production,and
therefore
more competition for
theseresources.
While threats to global
food security arenumerous and affect both
economically developed and
less-
developed countries,it is the people of the latter
who are likelyto feel the most impact.
Vast numbers lackbasic food
requirements: at least 1 billion people are
undernourished and
2 billion suffer
from micronutrient deficiency. Conversely, 1.2
billion are overweight.
An
environmental
example
of
the
impact
of
food
production
mismanagement
on
ecosystems,
and the wider implicationsof this, can
he clearly seen in the caseof drastic declines in
bird
species.
Forexample,
in
Europe
and
North
Americapopulations
of
bird
species-those that are adapted to live
in specificenvironments-have fallen by an
estimated30%
over 40 years. This has
been attributedat least partially to the impact of
farming,especially
when this involves a
single croptype being grown over a large area.
In fact, a study by Stanford
Universitybiologists (Sekercioglu, Daily&Ehrlich,
2004)concluded that
by
2100
，
10%ofall bird species
were likely to disappearand another 15%could be on
thebrink
of extinction. This dramatic
lossis expected to have a negative impacton forest
ecosystems
and
agricultureworldwide,
and
warned
that
it
might
evenencourage
the
spread
of
human
diseases.
The
latter
point
is
supported
by
reportsof
a
dramatic
fall
in
vulture
numbers
in
India,
allowing
an
upsurge
in
numbers
ofrats
and
feral
dogs,
which
spread
diseasesthat
affect humans
(see
Swan et al., 2006;BirdLife
International, 2008)
，
The
vulturepopulation
crash is attributed
mainly to poisoning by high concentrations of
diclofenac, a drug used to
treat farm
animals. The birds ingest the drug when they feed
on the animals
’
carcasses.
The
challenges
involved
in
addressing
theproblem
of
food
security
are
complex.
Partof
the
solution
is
increasing
the
potentialof
food
yields,
but
the
approach
must
ers
and
consumers
offood
must
play
a
major
role
in
all
this
andtake
responsibility in
terms of choosing howfood is
Reducing
the
amount
of
waste
in
the
foodproduction
system
is
one
approach
toimproving
foodsecurity.
However, in futurethe
moresystematically
andglobally.
A
particular
problem
area
here
isthe
importing
into
economically
developedcountries
of
exotic
fruit
and
can
have
a
negative
impact
on
foodsecurity
in
two
ways.
Firstly,
importing
(andespecially
air-
freighting)
fresh
producefromoverseas
locations
can
significantly
increasethe
carbon
footprint
of
food
production,
contributing
to
global
warming
and
itsassociated
problems
。
Secondly,
if
growersin less
economically developed countriesswitch to
producing fruit and vegetablesfor
export, this could displace local
staplecrops, resulting in worsening diets forwhat
may be an
already
malnourishedpopulation.
A further
solution is to manage cropproduction to boost
yields of some cropsin countries with
temperate
climates.
However,
climate
change
could
also
causeshifts
in
seasonal
patterns
that put crops
out
of
rhythm
with
the
insects
that
pollinatethem,
or
could
increase
the
likelihoodof
extreme
weather events
damaging
thedeveloping
flowers
that
are
essential
forthe
crop .There
is
a
strong
likelihood thatdiets will increasingly be
dependent onanimal sources of protein, but
farmers
donot
necessarily
adopt
practices
that
lead
tothe
fulfilment
of
potential
yield.
Helpingthem become more efficient
offers a furthermeans of addressing the food
security
issue.
An
integrated
，
systemic
approach
tothe
problems
of
food
security
has
to
bedeveloped.
This
includes
encouraging
agri-food
research,
with
themost
technologicallyadvanced
countriesdirecting
their
attentionand
research
focustowards
dealing
with
theproblem.
In
addition, a
globalapproach is needed and specialist research
initiatives will need to help with
integrating the food-security research
undertaken by non-specialist institutions.
References
BirdLife International (2008; April
30). Vulture crisis deepens. Retrieved October 31,
2011, from
/news/news/2008/04
八
ulture
Beddington,
J.
(ed.)
(2011).Foresight
report:
The
future
of
food
and
farming.
Challenges
a
nd
choices
for
globalsustainability.
London:
Government
Office
for
Science.
Retrieved
December
22,
2011
，
from
/assets/bispartners/foresight/docs/food-and-
fa
rming/
Black, R. (2010,
July 12). Global population study launched by
Royal Society. BBC News. Retrieved
December 21, 2011, from /news/10578484
Sekercioglu,
C.
H.,
Daily,
G.
C.&Ehrlich,
P
R.
(2004).
Ecosystem
consequences
of
bird
declines.
Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences. 101(52),18042-18047.
Swan,
G.,
Naidoo,
V,
Cuthbert,
R.,
Green,
R.
E.,
Pain,
D.
J.,
Swarup,
D.
…
&Wolter,
K.
(2006).
Removing the threat of diclofenac to
critically endangered Asian vultures. PLoS
Biology. 4(3),
e66.
Tiffin,
R.
(2011
，
January
24).
Diet
and
sustainability
key
to
feeding
the
world.
[Press
rele
ase].
Reading:
University
of
Reading.
Retrieved
October
31,
2011,
from
g.
/about/newsandevents/release
s/
Source: John Slaght, ISLC,
University of Reading, UK, based on the references
cited.
Focus
task:
You are going to read a selection
of texts in order to produce a set of notes that
will help you
complete the following
assignment:
The global population has
increased from two billion to seven billion in the
past 80 years. In the
next
40
years
it
is
predicted
to
rise
to
nine
billion.
What
are
the
challenges
and
what
measures
can be most effective in feeding such a rapidly
expanding population?
Text 5a
summarises the key issues relating to food
security that are covered in greater detail in
the
three
other
texts
in
the
unit.
These
come
from
a
review
paper
by
UK
government
scientists,
which
maintains
that
good
nutrition
and
sustainability
are
essential
in
order
to
ensure
global food security.
Task 1 Surveying
the text
It is important that students
in higher education make decisions about how to
make use of an
academic text because of
the large amount of reading required on some
courses.
Study tip:
Remember
that Surveying features of the text before going
into detailed reading can
save time and
provide important insights into the content and
value of the text. Features to
look for
include the title and any figures or graphs.
1.1 Analyse the title of Text 5a by
examining it in sections. In the table below the
title is divided
into six separate
parts. Complete the column with appropriate
deductions.
1.2
Now
consider
what
you
can
deduce
from
the
photograph
about
the
contentof
the
text.
Discuss your ideas
with another student.
1.3 Look at the references at the end
of the text. What useful information dothese give?