Issues Concerning Food Resources
Sources:
Supply issues
1 and 2. Calculated using the FAOSTAT Web site of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
3. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: A Framework for Assessment, published by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
Demand issues
4. World Population Prospects, the 2010 Revision, published by the United Nations
5. OECD–FAO Agricultural Outlook 2009–2018, published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and FAO
6. World agriculture: towards 2015/2030, published by FAO
7. Status of Food Waste, published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (in Japanese only)
8. OECD–FAO Agricultural Outlook 2008–2017, published by OECD and FAO
Current Issues Affecting Food Resources
Food demand is growing rapidly with population increase
The world's population is expected to reach approximately 7.0 billion in 2011 and grow to 9.3 billion9 in 2050. Vast amounts of food will be required to feed the increasing population. Furthermore, rising economic wealth is encouraging higher consumption of meat, thereby creating the need for more grain to feed livestock. To produce one kilogram of meat, four kilograms of grain is required for poultry, seven kilograms for swine, and 11 kilograms for cattle.
Meanwhile, biofuel is competing with food production, as corn and other forms of sugar are used for raw materials. Greater amounts of food resources are also being discarded as waste, further increasing overall food demand.
Shortages in the food supply
While food demand rises, the arable land available for production and crop yields per unit of land area are not increasing. Land previously used as farmland is shrinking, and with unusual weather conditions caused by climate change, crop cultivation is unlikely to continue producing the same yields as in the past.
The balance between the supply and demand of food is gradually deteriorating, resulting in increasingly slim prospects for boosting food production to the level needed to meet growing demand. 9. Data taken from the World Population Prospects, the 2010 Revision, published by the United Nations
Facts about food production
- The total area of cultivated land is not significantly increasing worldwide.
- Crop yields per unit of land have been declining, and increasing food production will be challenging.
- The environment for growing food is worsening as soil deteriorates on land used for cultivation and grazing.
Facts about the use of food resources
- In line with population growth, food production must increase more than 70% by 2050.
- Demand for livestock feed is growing as a result of increased consumption of meat in developing and emerging countries due to changing lifestyles.
- Large amounts of edible food resources are being disposed as food waste, especially in developed countries.
- With the growing demand for biomass energy, a serious debate has arisen with regard to the use of food resources for either biofuel or food products.
