By 2050, there will be nine billion humans populating our planet.
Conservative estimates indicate that in order to feed this surging population,
we would need to grow 70% more food.
This already challenging task is made even
more daunting in the face of global climate change.
Variable weather patterns are wreaking havoc on food production.
Unpredictable severe weather events, like floods,
droughts, and heatwaves, have devastated crops worldwide.
Unsustainable farming practices have abused and stripped the soil of nutrients.
In the last 40 years,
the world has lost a third of its arable land.
A rising demand for meat and biofuel,
especially in developing countries,
is driving rapid deforestation.
Expansion of agricultural land into
our already dwindling forest has the huge risk of further exacerbating climate change.
Although, currently production rates are still increasing,
an exponential population increase means demand will soon exceed supply.
Against this background of
projected food shortages and extensive efforts to increase production,
there is paradoxically also a bounty problem.
The annual global food wastage,
as estimated by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization,
is 1.3 billion tons.
Logistical difficulties and limited
shelf life are to blame for a majority of this wastage.
In this scenario of stark contrast where
perfectly good food is thrown away while millions starve,
we need to urgently reassess how we manage food production.
The goal of feeding nine billion people will require
improved food production via reduced yield gaps,
increased resource efficiency, and developing advanced crop varieties.
In addition, we will need to promote sensible food decisions and reduce
food wastage with a consideration towards preserving our environmental resources.
Otherwise, food security, especially for the world's poorest,
will be at great risk.
In this course, you will learn about a range of topics related
to future food divided into two main segments,
food shortage and sustainable solutions.
In the first week,
you will get a detailed insight into factors contributing to food shortage.
You will learn why and how extreme weather events,
such as drought, submergence,
extreme temperatures, negatively affect plants,
make them more vulnerable to disease,
and impact food production.
Food scarcity, however, does not necessarily
stem from insufficient production or crop failure.
A historical perspective of major famine events will reveal how
government policies and distribution problems were
often to blame for widespread food shortage and hunger.
During the Irish potato famine and several famines on the Indian subcontinent,
the countries involved were actually exporting food abroad.
It wasn't only food shortage,
but the lack of a political will to
efficiently distribute food that contributed to these famines.
Effective food distribution is still
a major problem plaguing efforts to end world hunger.
At the end of the first week,
you will gather information to conclude whether
the problem is a shortage of food or a distribution problem.
Good luck this first week.