Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism, warn scientists

[Werewolf Girl]

LINK

Leading water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world's population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages.
Humans derive about 20% of their protein from animal-based products now, but this may need to drop to just 5% to feed the extra 2 billion people expected to be alive by 2050, according to research by some of the world's leading water scientists.
"There will not be enough water available on current croplands to produce food for the expected 9 billion population in 2050 if we follow current trends and changes towards diets common in western nations," the report by Malik Falkenmark and colleagues at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) said.
"There will be just enough water if the proportion of animal-based foods is limited to 5% of total calories and considerable regional water deficits can be met by a … reliable system of food trade."
Dire warnings of water scarcity limiting food production come as Oxfam and the UN prepare for a possible second global food crisis in five years. Prices for staples such as corn and wheat have risen nearly 50% on international markets since June, triggered by severe droughts in the US and Russia, and weak monsoon rains in Asia. More than 18 million people are already facing serious food shortages across the Sahel.
Oxfam has forecast that the price spike will have a devastating impact in developing countries that rely heavily on food imports, including parts of Latin America, North Africa and the Middle East. Food shortages in 2008 led to civil unrest in 28 countries.
Adopting a vegetarian diet is one option to increase the amount of water available to grow more food in an increasingly climate-erratic world, the scientists said. Animal protein-rich food consumes five to 10 times more water than a vegetarian diet. One third of the world's arable land is used to grow crops to feed animals. Other options to feed people include eliminating waste and increasing trade between countries in food surplus and those in deficit.
"Nine hundred million people already go hungry and 2 billion people are malnourished in spite of the fact that per capita food production continues to increase," they said. "With 70% of all available water being in agriculture, growing more food to feed an additional 2 billion people by 2050 will place greater pressure on available water and land."

This really should be old news by now, but sadly to most of the public it's not.

 

[Blobbenstein]

I sometimes wonder whether capitalism needs poverty, in the same way that mechanical systems need hot and cold, so that heat can move from hot to cold while doing work.......or something like that.

 

[Blobbenstein]

also:

not my picture.

 

[kazyeeqen]

We're so doomed.

 

[Freesia]

I sometimes wonder whether capitalism needs poverty, in the same way that mechanical systems need hot and cold, so that heat can move from hot to cold while doing work.......or something like that.

I dont think it does need it, poverty is a result of the forces in capitalism taking place, ie competition. Not to say communism would be good either, but if humans are forced to compete ie fight for resources, there will be winners and losers, and the bigger the winners get, the bigger the losers will get.

If capitalism is reigned in and caps were put on how rich people could become without having to give their excess to the poor, then it would work a lot better in an economic sense.

I cant see how capitalism can be good in a long term sense as the environment and ecosystems we live in are put last, creating bad situations for future generations.

 

[RabbitLuvr]

There have been frequent stories on the local NPR station here about how the cattle ranchers are having to reduce their herds due to the drought. Meat prices are going to go way up.

 

[FortyTwo]

Gee. What a bummer.

 

[Amy SF]

Gee. What a bummer.

You said it.

 

[Danielle]

Can't see omnis being too thrilled about this

 

[Freesia]

Could be amusing, imagine some hardcore omni with a bacon tshirt on, biting meekly into a tofu burger because it is all he can afford...

 

[Danielle]

Could be amusing, imagine some hardcore omni with a bacon tshirt on, biting meekly into a tofu burger because it is all he can afford...

 

[thefadedone]

Could be amusing, imagine some hardcore omni with a bacon tshirt on, biting meekly into a tofu burger because it is all he can afford...

And then shouting "Holy ****!! This is ******* delicious. This has to be the best burger I have ever had! Why didn't I try this tofu stuff before? What else have I missed out on?"

 

[sleepydvdr]

I remember a story a couple years ago about a woman who was upset that she had to cook vegetarian for her family a couple nights a week because meat was getting too expensive to eat every day. As if that were supposed to be a bad thing and we should feel pity for them. Actually, I feel quite the opposite about the situation. Our faux meats are much more expensive than the real thing.

This meat shortage problem would fix itself if the government would quit subsidizing the meat industry. Meat prices would soar and people would eat a lot less of it. Goodness knows, Americans would be much better off without so much cheap, unhealthy food.

 

[kazyeeqen]

Never that simple though. Lowest income class will suffer greatly (and not just by being forced to be vegetarian ) before any significant change happens within the middle class.

 

[sallyomally]

Never that simple though. Lowest income class will suffer greatly (and not just by being forced to be vegetarian ) before any significant change happens within the middle class.

Yep.

 

[FortyTwo]

also:

not my picture.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe!

 

[peacefulveglady]

This is why i been educating myself the last few years because I wanted to enjoy experminenting with Veg lifestyle before we are forced to live it. Right now its not that easy to many distractions but I am picking each day up. My husband says that alot of meat intake with certain people in our lives results to their health issues he is right.

 

[Rosie1]

warn scientists

Ooooo, I'm scared!