food-supplies

‘Therearemanythreatstoglobalfoodsupplies.’Explaintheproblem,identifypossiblesolutions,andassesstheimplicationsifimplementingthesesolutions.Today,therearestillalargenumberofpeoplesufferingfromhungerintheworld.Asaglobalissue,foodsupplyisfacingdiversifiedthreats,andmayevenaffectthesurvivalofhumanbeings.Therefore,peopleshouldbeawareoftheimportanceofprotectionoffoodsecurity.Thispaperwillfocusonseveralmajorproblemsoftheglobalfoodsupplyandsomesolutions,thendiscusstheimplications.Themostseriousproblemisthatpopulationexplosion,whichleadstoshortageoffood,increasefoodproductionmightbethebestwaytosolvethisproblem.Nowadays,foodsupplyisfacingthreemajorthreats.Firstofall,thepopulationgrowthrateistoofast.AsispointedoutbyBlack(2010),theworld'spopulationhasgrownfrom2billionin1930to6.8billionin2010andisexpectedtoreach90billionin2050.Thelargerpopulationmeansmoreconsumption.Therapidgrowthoftheworld’spopulationwilldirectlyleadtoaseriousshortageoflandandwaterresources(Slaght,2012),bothofwhichareessentialforfoodproduction.Inaddition,climatechangeisalsoanimportantfactoraffectingfoodsupply,whichisreflectedintheinfluenceofglobalwarmingonchangesofcroppollinationanditsfurtherimpactonseasonalpatternsofproduction(Slaght,2012).While,thedeteriorationoftheextremeweatherandglobalclimatewilldamagecropsandreducetheyieldofgrain.Finally,theregionalunbalanceisalsoahiddendangerinthecurrentfoodsystem,includingthetechnicalandeconomicdifferencesthatleadtothegapinfoodproduction,whichhasmadeitmorevulnerableinpoorareas.Accordingtotherelevantdata,atleast1billionpeopleareinhungerand2billionpeopleareundertheconditionofmalnutrition.Incontrast,1.2billionpeopleareconsideredoverweight(Godfray1,etal,2010).Todealwithproblemscausedbythethreethreatsmentionedabove,there’remanysolutionstochoose,ofwhichthemostimportantistoincreaseoutputandtoreducewaste(Firth,2012).Asforcountriesshortoffoodsupply,theycanalwaysmeetpeople’sdemandsbyimportingfoodandexpandingcultivatedarea(Slaght,2012).Asurbanizationhasledtoadramaticdeclineofcultivatedarea,itisthegovernment’sresponsibilitytoprotecttheexistingcultivatedland,tolegitimatelyexpandagriculturalland,andtoplantmorecropsaccordingtotheclimate(Slaght,2012).Inaddition,Godfray1(2010)haspointedoutthatanincreaseonfoodpricecaneffectadeclineonfoodwaste,andmakepeoplecherishfood.Obviously,toincreasefoodsupplythroughtheapplicationofnewtechnologieswillboostfoodsupplyoveralongperiod.Accordingtorelevantstatistics,progressinagriculturalscienceandtechnologyhasbeenmadeforthelastfewyears.Forinstance,genetictechnologyhasboostedagriculturalyield,especiallyinplacessufferingashortageofstaplefood（IAASTD,ascitedinGodfray2,etal,2010）.Inthemeanwhile,tostrikebalanceoffoodsupplyacrossdifferentregions,developmentofnewtechnologyshouldbestressedtoincreasefoodoutputandtonarrowregionaldifferenceindevelopingcountries.Inconclusion,alltheoptionsIproposedaboveareavailabletosolvetheproblemsoffoodsupplytosomeextent.However,asacoinhastwosides,there’reinevitablynegativeeffectsofthesesolutions.Firstofall,foodimportislikelytomakeacountrymuchtoodependentonotherssoastoneglectitsownagriculturaldevelopment,what’smore,intheprocessoffoodtransportation,largecostwillcauseheavyfinancialburdenondevelopingcountriesandfuelslikecoalswillworsentheenvironment(Slaght,2012).Secondly,whileadjustmentoffoodpricewillreducefoodwaste,itwillalsomakemorepeoplesuffermalnutrition,becausecountrieswithtoomanypoorpeoplecannotaffordahighlyfoodexpenditure.Tomakeitworse,peopleunsatisfiedwithpriceadjustmentmaystartanti-governmentprotestsandcausesocialinstability(Godfray1,etal,2010).Thirdly,technologydevelopmentisawhiteelephantforimpoverisheddevelopingcountriesinthefirstplace.Asforboththepositiveandnegativeeffectsofgenetictechnology,neithercanonesayforsurewhethergeneticcropsaresafe,norcanhepredicttheeffectsinthefuture(Godfray2,etal,2010).Peopleneedpaymoreattentiontotheseimplications.Thefoodsupplyasaglobalissuefacingdiversifiedthreats.Themostseriousproblemispopulationexplosion,andpeoplecansolveitbyincreasingfoodproductionwhichisthemosteffectiveway.However,therearesomeotherthreatssuchasclimatechangeandregionalunbalancedwhichcanbesolvedbyraisingfoodpriceandprotectingfarmingland.Eventhoughthesesolutionshavesomedrawbacks,theycanbeuseful.Ifpeopledonotpayenoughattentiontofoodsuppliedproblem,thefoodsupplyproblemsmightinfluencehumanbeings.Reference:Black,R.(2010,July12).GlobalpopulationstudylaunchedbyRoyalSociety.BBCNews.RetrievedDecember21,2011,from(2010)1.Thechallengeoffeeding9billionpeople.Science.327(5987),812-818.Godfray,H.C.J.,Beddington,J,R.,Crute,I.R.,etal.(2010)2.Dealingwiththesituation.Science.327(5987),812-818.Firth,L.,(2012).Urgentactionneededtoredesignthefoodsystemduetotheword’sgrowingpopulation,Asustainablefuture,vol218,pp29-30Slaght,J.(2012)Dietandsustainabilitykeytofeedingtheworld:Afoodsecurityreport.InPallant,A&SlaghtJ(2012)Readingandwritingsourcebook.Reading:Garnet.