www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/aug/31/climatechange.food?gusrc=rss&feed=science
The Guardian + Friday August 31 2007 Climate change and an increasing population could trigger a global food crisis in the next half century as countries struggle for fertile land to grow crops and rear animals, scientists warned yesterday. To keep up with the growth in human population, more food will have to be produced worldwide over the next 50 years than has been during the past 10,000 years combined, the experts said. But in many countries a combination of poor farming practices and deforestation will be exacerbated by climate change to steadily degrade soil fertility, leaving vast areas unsuitable for crops or grazing. Competition over sparse resources may lead to conflicts and environmental destruction, the scientists fear. The warnings came as researchers from around the world convened at a UN-backed forum in Iceland on sustainable development to address the organisation's millennium development goals to halve hunger and extreme poverty by 2015. The researchers will use the meeting to call on countries to impose strict farming guidelines to ensure that soils are not degraded so badly they cannot recover. "Policy changes that result in improved conservation of soil and vegetation and restoration of degraded land are fundamental to humanity's future livelihood," said Zafar Adeel, director of the international network on water, environment and health at the UN University in Toronto and co-organiser of the meeting. "This is an urgent task as the quality of land for food production, as well as water storage, is fundamental to future peace. can have a strong impact on efforts to curb the flow of people, environmental refugees, inside countries as well as across national borders," he added. The UN millennium ecosystem assessment ranked land degradation among the world's greatest environmental challenges, claiming it risked destabilising societies, endangering food security and increasing poverty. Some 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded. Among the worst affected regions are Central America, where 75% of land is infertile, Africa, where a fifth of soil is degraded, and Asia, where 11% is unsuitable for farming. The majority of soil erosion is caused by water, either through flooding or poor irrigation, with the rest lost to winds. Farming practices such as ploughing also damage soil, as does repeated planting in fields, which depletes the soil of nutrients. "You can sum it up as need, greed and ignorance," said Andrew Campbell, an Australian environmental consultant. "Some pressures on soil resources come from simple human needs, where people don't have any option but to grow crops or farm animals. But in other instances world markets demand produce, so farmers try to meet those markets. And sometimes, there will be land that's cleared that should not have been, or grazed when it shouldn't have been. He warned that increased competition over depleted resources would lead to conflict - "and the losers will inevitably be the environment and poor people". According to the UN's food and agriculture programme, 854 million people do not have sufficient food for an active and healthy life. The global population has risen substantially in recent decades. Between 1980 and 2000 it rose from 44bn to 61bn and food production increased 50%. The threat of a food crisis is exacerbated by fears over energy security, with many countries opting to plant biofuel crops in place of traditional food crops. India, for example, has pledged to meet 10% of its vehicle fuel needs with biofuels. Andres Arnalds, of the Icelandic soil conservation service, said the pressures on food production would have knock-on effects all over the world because of the international links in food supply. Mr Campbell said: "If we can improve agricultural practices across the board we can dramatically increase our food production from existing lands, without having to clear more or put more pressure on soils. Simple things like good crop rotation, sowing at the right time of year, basic weed control, are what is needed.
Organic food is healthier: study Some organic foods, including fruit, vegetables and milk, may be more nutritious than non-organic produce, according to an investigation by British scientists.
Climate of change for supporters of GM crops Letters: As a member of the RSPB, I was disappointed to see its conservation officer (Letters, September 18) repeating the erroneous conclusions drawn from the farm-scale trials of GM crops.
Meat production 'beefs up' emissions Report finds one kilogram of meat releases more greenhouse emissions than a three hour drive and leaving the lights on at home.
Pollution risks to people slip through net in tests on fish A new class of organic pollutants in the environment which could pose risks to people's health has been identified by scientists.
Insecticide study shows GM benefits Genetically modified cotton and maize with a built-in insecticide is better for the environment than conventional crops sprayed with insecticide, according to research that pulled together data from 42 different studies conducted across the world.
Advisers urge more emphasis on crop experiment benefits British farmers are being denied access to the most promising agricultural advances because regulators place too much emphasis on the negative impacts they have on the environment, according to a government body.
Developing world plants record GM crops Developing countries planted a record acreage of GM crops last year, but they have not benefited consumers or led to a promised reduced use of pesticides, according to two new reports by bitterly opposed organisations.
Genetically modified potatoes to be grown in British trials Fields of genetically modified potatoes will be grown in Britain next spring under plans approved by the government yesterday.
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