pointrider
Well-known member
Not long ago the Texas Farm Bureau newspaper contained an article by the editor entitled "Agriculture Is A Business If Nothing Else." In the article he defended agriculture as a business and made statements like, "sustainability of profits is necessary for agriculture. People must understand that economic sustainability is first and foremost for ag producers and processors." He went on to say more along those lines and urged people to understand.
I do not disagree with him as far as today's commercial agriculture goes. There are things going on that I never see discussed on this forum that are a part of the free enterprise, capitalist ag business model such as why concentration at all levels occurs. There are inherent reasons why the commercial ag system as we know it today is not getting the job done in terms of feeding the hungry people of the world. But, as I said, as far as the business model of today's agriculture goes, I do not disagree with him.
On the other side of the coin, the U.N. says that there are still a billion children in the world who go to bed hungry at night, and I believe that. In some countries children are dying from diseases that are brought on by severe malnutrition. In the U.S. more and more people are now on food stamps (although they are not called that anymore), and I heard the other day that 50% of young children in the U.S. are now in the WIC program. The global economy that we live in today is forcing more and more typical third-world problems into our own country, and I don't believe this will change anytime soon.
So, what is the answer? As more and more governments look at the "liability and responsibility" of feeding more and more people, are they going to settle for business as usual? I don't believe that either.
I certainly don't mean for the rest of this post to represent the answer to the challenges of the future, but I just happened to see this article and thought I would use it to help get this thread started. What are some of your thoughts on this subject?
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Artificial Meat? Food for Thought by 2050
Summary posted by Meridian on 8/16/2010
Source: The Guardian
Author: John Vidal
A major academic assessment of future global food supplies suggests that even with new technologies, such as genetic modification and nanotechnology, hundreds of millions of people may still go hungry due to a combination of climate change, water shortages and increasing food consumption. The Royal Society of the United Kingdom, which produced a set of 21 papers on the subject, adds that the challenge of increasing global food supplies to feed nine billion people by 2050 is not insurmountable. While there are many low-tech ways to effectively increase yields, such as reducing the food waste that occurs in both rich and poor countries, novel ways to increase food production will also be needed, according to scientists. Dr. Philip Thornton, a scientist with the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, says two "wild cards" could transform global meat and milk production: "One is artificial meat, which is made in a giant vat, and the other is nanotechnology, which is expected to become more important as a vehicle for delivering medication to livestock." One of the papers, by the population biologist Charles Godfray of Oxford University, UK, says "[M]ajor advances can be achieved with the concerted application of current technologies and the importance of investing in research sooner rather than later to enable the food system to cope with challenges in the coming decades." The article, and a link to the papers, which will be formally released later this year in advance of the United Nations climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, can be viewed online at the link below.
The original article may still be available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/16/artificial-meat-food-royal-s...
I do not disagree with him as far as today's commercial agriculture goes. There are things going on that I never see discussed on this forum that are a part of the free enterprise, capitalist ag business model such as why concentration at all levels occurs. There are inherent reasons why the commercial ag system as we know it today is not getting the job done in terms of feeding the hungry people of the world. But, as I said, as far as the business model of today's agriculture goes, I do not disagree with him.
On the other side of the coin, the U.N. says that there are still a billion children in the world who go to bed hungry at night, and I believe that. In some countries children are dying from diseases that are brought on by severe malnutrition. In the U.S. more and more people are now on food stamps (although they are not called that anymore), and I heard the other day that 50% of young children in the U.S. are now in the WIC program. The global economy that we live in today is forcing more and more typical third-world problems into our own country, and I don't believe this will change anytime soon.
So, what is the answer? As more and more governments look at the "liability and responsibility" of feeding more and more people, are they going to settle for business as usual? I don't believe that either.
I certainly don't mean for the rest of this post to represent the answer to the challenges of the future, but I just happened to see this article and thought I would use it to help get this thread started. What are some of your thoughts on this subject?
------------------
Artificial Meat? Food for Thought by 2050
Summary posted by Meridian on 8/16/2010
Source: The Guardian
Author: John Vidal
A major academic assessment of future global food supplies suggests that even with new technologies, such as genetic modification and nanotechnology, hundreds of millions of people may still go hungry due to a combination of climate change, water shortages and increasing food consumption. The Royal Society of the United Kingdom, which produced a set of 21 papers on the subject, adds that the challenge of increasing global food supplies to feed nine billion people by 2050 is not insurmountable. While there are many low-tech ways to effectively increase yields, such as reducing the food waste that occurs in both rich and poor countries, novel ways to increase food production will also be needed, according to scientists. Dr. Philip Thornton, a scientist with the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, says two "wild cards" could transform global meat and milk production: "One is artificial meat, which is made in a giant vat, and the other is nanotechnology, which is expected to become more important as a vehicle for delivering medication to livestock." One of the papers, by the population biologist Charles Godfray of Oxford University, UK, says "[M]ajor advances can be achieved with the concerted application of current technologies and the importance of investing in research sooner rather than later to enable the food system to cope with challenges in the coming decades." The article, and a link to the papers, which will be formally released later this year in advance of the United Nations climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, can be viewed online at the link below.
The original article may still be available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/16/artificial-meat-food-royal-s...