...different from what it is today in terms of food. Advancement in GMO food technology has progressed steadily over the last couple of years. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are scientifically altered foods that undergo desired variations to their normal genetic makeup to satisfy certain traits. The ethical issues GMOs produce are well-documented with concerns about genetic mutation and manipulation to favor corruption and the needs of the powerful. However, the social issues they can create are yet to be seen in full effect. GMOs have a history of corporation abuse, and the harm they form in farmlands and the environment, and it is only a matter of time until GMO controversy reaches new levels. The potential long-term...
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...To what extent can global food production meet the demands of today and tomorrow whilst remaining sustainable and ethical? In the first half of this century, agriculture will have to face several challenges. Currently food production can meet the whole worlds population needs, except it is not distributed fairly. World population is expected to soar by 34% to reach 9.1 billion by 2050, with the entire 2.3 billion rises to take place in the developing countries. Furthermore, not only will population growth take place entirely in developing countries but also it will occur mostly in urban areas that will swell by 86% or nearly 3 billion people while rural populations shrink by 18%. The combined effect of population growth, high-income growth and urbanization, with the shifts in diet structures towards more nutritious and higher quality foods, is expected to result in almost the doubling of demand for food, feed and fibre. There could be a few solutions for these issues, but the question is asked if they are both sustainable and ethical. Because of this increase in demand, natural resources such as land, water and biodiversity, will become more and more scarce because of increasing pressures. This means that a smaller rural workforce will have to produce more and better from fewer resources to meet future demand. In addition to the growing resource scarcity, global agriculture will have to cope with the effects of climate change, notably higher temperatures, greater rainfall variability...
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...Production and Consumption of Humans. SCI 207 02/27/2012 Production and Consumption of Humans. We as humans produce and consume billions of resources each year. While one billion of the population is obese, another one billion is starving. The world relies on food production and consumption to survive. America is a strong resource for food production and consumption as well as mechanical vehicles for harvesting food. These vehicles also consume oil and a byproduct gasoline in order to function. This paper will focus on two production habits of humans being, food production and farm equipment production, and two consumption habits being food consumption and oil consumption. By focusing on these habits this paper will attempt to uncover some basic principals to maintain the world population. All things seem to be circular in nature for example, the world needs food for consumption in order to have mass distribution of food we need well defined agriculture and farming. This farming must meet the population demands therefore the use of high-powered equipment such as tractors and tills must be implemented. These high-powered machines run on oil products therefore consuming this natural resource in order to produce food for consumption by the masses. So what things should the world be aware of when producing food and consuming it? According to Walker, P., Rhubart-Berg, P., McKenzie, S., Kelling, K., & Lawrence, R. S. (2005), “The US population typically consumes...
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...We live in a fast paced world, where we want everything now and promptly, without any regard to how it would affect us in the future. As consumers, we do not plan ahead for how our future generations will suffer as a result of our simplest choices. Our ecosystem and climate change are suffering as a result of our careless ways. Consumers have to make sustainable choices for food production and consumption because we have a responsibility to preserve our environment for the generations to come. One way of making a environmentally sustainable choice is by choosing to produce or help produce food in a way that will not only benefit us, but make a huge positive impact in the environment. We need to practice a sustainable way of food production...
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...multiple challenges: it has to produce more food and fibre to feed a growing population with a smaller rural labour force, more feedstocks for a potentially huge bioenergy market, contribute to overall development in the many agriculture-dependent developing countries, adopt more efficient and sustainable production methods and adapt to climate change. World population is expected to grow by over a third, or 2.3 billion people, between 2009 and 2050 to reach 9bn people. Nearly all of this growth is forecast to take place in the developing countries. Market demand for food will continue to grow. Demand for cereals, for both food and animal feed uses is projected to reach some 3 billion tonnes by 2050, up from today’s nearly 2.1 billion tonnes. However this is lower than the 3.2 billion increase that materialized between 1970 and 2010. This deceleration will impact world agriculture by lowering its rate of growth compared to the past. The projections show that feeding a world population of 9 billion people in 2050 would require raising overall food production by some 70 percent between 2005/07 and 2050. Production in the developing countries would need to almost double. Ninety percent of the growth in crop production globally (80 percent in developing countries) is expected to come from higher yields and increased cropping intensity, with the remainder coming from land expansion. Figure 1.1 Per capita food consumption Achieving such production increases will not be easier than in...
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...Historical behaviour of food prices and their likely future path By Anne-Sophie Corbeau Georgios Gavotsis Jie Yue Michael Mahmoud Nanditha Chinnaraj Raphael Zumofen Business Economics Lecturer: Professor David Shepherd Imperial College Business School MSc Management Word Count: 2495 10th November 2011 “The common theme for why all these commodity prices are higher is the substantial increase in fund flow into these markets, which are not big enough to withstand the increase in funds without pushing up prices” By Kevin Morrison, Journalist for the Financial Times April 9, 2006 Table of Contents i. Introduction 1 ii. Movements in food prices 1 iii. Structure of the food market 8 iv. Government Intervention in the Food Market 10 a. Tariffs and Quotas 10 b. Subsidies and Export Taxes 11 c. Price Support Mechanisms 13 v. Forecast of food prices evolution over the next 20 years 16 vi. Bibliography 21 Introduction The aim of this paper is to analyse the various factors that have contributed not only to rise of food prices over the last two decades, ending the trend of falling food prices#, but also how the structure of the food commodity market and government intervention have contributed to price spikes and generally increasing food commodity prices. The paper will conclude with a forecast of long-term food prices and the factors that will contribute to a continued increase...
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...world agricultural markets This working document does not necessarily represent the official views of the European Commission High prices on agricultural commodity markets: situation and prospects Contents 1. 2. 3. 4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION AND STOCKTAKING................................................................ 4 FACTORS BEHIND INCREASING PRICES ........................................................... 6 TEMPORAL DIMENSION OF FACTORS: TEMPORARY OR STRUCTURAL......................................................................................................... 11 4.1. Changes in agricultural production and trade due to physical characteristics of production ........................................................................... 11 4.2. Economic parameters ...................................................................................... 14 4.2.1. 4.2.2. 4.2.3. 4.2.4. 4.3.1. 4.3.2. 4.3.3. 4.3.4. 4.3.5. Population and income growth.......................................................... 14 Price of crude oil and related costs.................................................... 16 Currency movements......................................................................... 21 Activities on the commodity exchange markets................................ 23 Stocks and related policies ................................................................ 26 Agricultural...
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...Vilsack Global Food Security Today, 870 million people around the world do not have access to a sufficient supply of nutritious and safe food. Tackling this problem to help establish global food security is important not only to hundreds of millions of hungry people, but also to the sustainable economic growth of these nations and the long-term economic prosperity of the United States. As we help countries become more food secure and raise incomes, we also expand markets for American producers • For example, over the past five years U.S. agricultural exports to developing countries in Southeast Asia, Central America, and SubSaharan Africa have grown at more than twice the annual rate as compared to developed countries. U.S. poultry meat exports to Sub-Saharan Africa expanded 180 percent from 2009 to 2011. • Given population growth and rising incomes, it is estimated that the demand for food will rise by 70 to 100 percent by 2050. To meet this need, the United Nations estimates that production in developing countries will need to almost double. • In 2010, the U.S. helped launch the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, an international, multilateral trust fund that has already awarded $658 million to finance country development plans in 18 low-income countries, with 8.2 million beneficiaries. Building Local Capacity, Increasing Productivity, and Improving Markets and Trade • Since 2010, USDA has aligned appropriate programs to Feed the Future plans to support agriculture...
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...The Food Crises: A quantitative model of food prices including speculators and ethanol conversion Marco Lagi, Yavni Bar-Yam, Karla Z. Bertrand and Yaneer Bar-Yam New England Complex Systems Institute 238 Main St. Suite 319 Cambridge MA 02142, USA reviewed by: C. Peter Timmer - Cabot Professor of Development Studies emeritus. Harvard University Jeffrey C. Fuhrer - Executive Vice President and Senior Policy Advisor. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Richard N. Cooper - Maurits C. Boas Professor of International Economics. Harvard University Thomas C. Schelling - Distinguished Professor of Economics emeritus. University of Maryland (Dated: September 21, 2011) Abstract Recent increases in basic food prices are severely impacting vulnerable populations worldwide. Proposed causes such as shortages of grain due to adverse weather, increasing meat consumption in China and India, conversion of corn to ethanol in the US, and investor speculation on commodity markets lead to widely differing implications for policy. A lack of clarity about which factors are responsible reinforces policy inaction. Here, for the first time, we construct a dynamic model that quantitatively agrees with food prices. The results show that the dominant causes of price increases are investor speculation and ethanol conversion. Models that just treat supply and demand are not consistent with the actual price dynamics. The two sharp peaks in 2007/2008 and 2010/2011 are specifically due to investor...
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...“Greater participation of Indian Industry in the food Sector is a must. Our Government will encourage public- private participation as a catalyst towards achieving Self reliance…… …... An integrated approach to building a broad base of Scientific talent, production capabilities and a long term vision are the key elements to success“. Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh 26 May 2010 WILL INDIA BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE SELF SUFFICIENCY IN FOOD FOR ITS GROWING POPULATION SYNOPSIS Introduction 1. The India Vision-2020 report of the Indian Planning Commission has set forth the vision of the policy makers for the country in the next 20 years. The document recognizes that by the year 2020, India will shelter people who are better educated, healthier and more prosperous. The future development of the nation by the year 2020, on the social and economic front is premised on achieving a high rate of economic growth delivered with equity and social justice. Although India has achieved an impressive growth rate in the last twenty years, we are still a country with the largest number of poor people in the world. 2. Self sufficiency in food has been one of the major concerns and challenges for India. Major agricultural changes and policies were initiated to bring more agricultural productivity in India. The government also strives to bring more growth in agricultural sector through five year plan initiations. Yet, result seems...
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...as one of the most important sectors in their economy. The outcome of the agriculture sector is affected by the weather and climate, meaning that their economic growth and food security is sensitive to even a slight change in the pattern of the weather and climate. Hence these countries, more specifically small-scale farmers in low-income countries, are the most vulnerable group to the effect of global warming and climate change. [1]. In contrast, developed and developing countries share a responsibility of using fossil fuel as the energy source for the industrial sector, which contributes a significant release of greenhouse gasses (GHG) into the atmosphere. Another striking fact is that the food choice and lifestyle, such as a high consumption of meat, also plays a role in the production of GHG. Food production, especially livestock production, is responsible for 70% of all agricultural land use and 18% of global GHG. [2, 3]. Is it fair that the most vulnerable group in the poor countries have to bear the consequences of the other group’s actions? This concern makes me reflect and wonders of what action I can do. It would be unrealistic to think that I can do the...
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...Case study of the Economic Problem The basic economic problem Economists distinguish between wants and needs; needs are those things which people require to survive. These comprise food, water and protection from the elements in the form of shelter and clothing. Nestlé products fall into two of these categories (food and water). However they can only be described as wants because it is possible to survive without consuming any Nestlé products at all. All resources are considered scarce because the wants for them (the demand) outstrip the various uses for them (the supply). This means that they have to be shared out (distributed) by a mechanism such as price. There are numerous ways in which a resource may be used, an opportunity cost is therefore created whenever one use is preferred over another. If water is used for industrial production, it is not available for agriculture or domestic consumption. Water is a classic example of the distribution problem of scarce resources. There is actually enough water in the world for everyone's needs, and it is not a resource that is ever 'used up' in the way that other resources can be consumed. The amount of water in the earth's water cycle - evaporating from the sea, then falling as precipitation over land - is constant, the problem is one of distribution - it is not always located where it is needed. Read more: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/nestle/sustainability-and-water/the-basic-economic-problem.html#ixzz1oPYHca55 Case...
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...resources has allowed for great expansion in the global food production industry. The use of fertilizers has enabled increased production but has also caused a reliance on potash, a non-renewable resource. The article titled "Peak Potash – What Our Government Doesn't Want Us to Know," argues that global production of potash has already peaked on the Hubbert cycle and inevitably the industry will collapse in the near future. Evidence presented in the article is brief, but proves that relying on non-renewable resources is not sustainable. The complex issues of resource management are revealed by the article, but the article doesn’t mention irregularities in data or how the Hubbert Linearization (HL) is an approximation that often changes. After reviewing the articles references and other sources it is clear that there are issues in sustaining current usage of fertilizers in the food production industry. However, these problems may be somewhat exaggerated in this specific paper. The graphs created using data from the US Geological Survey 2009 show how production has increased significantly over the past 80 years, yet they also show how forecasting future production is very difficult task. If the production graph was analyzed in 1992, one might argue that production had already peaked and that the industry was facing a steady decline. However, this decline proved to be only an inconsistency in the Hubbert curve as production climbed steadily and reached all time highs after...
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...takes a different route with an unusual concept: food. Collingham places food at the center of the war, i.e. that food played a major role in the land grab that was perpetrated by the Axis powers and the war in general. After reading through the book, it is apparent that Collingham makes a strong, and ultimately, a valid argument. However, I don’t completely agree that food played the only major role in the war, and after reading through the book, I am not sure that Collingham implies this either, mainly because other aspects of the war are simply not discussed in much detail, and there is no comparative research done. Even before the war had begun, we see a general idea as to what the role of food was in the war. Take for example the collectivization of agriculture that Stalin brought about in Russia. This allowed Stalin to consolidate his power so that the peasants in Russia wouldn’t rise up against him. This collectivization led to the deaths of millions in Russia, and 6 million alone in Ukraine, all before the war had even begun (McKay 848-849). During the war itself, we see Germany using its occupied territories like Poland, France, and Ukraine to bring in forced labor, in the form of men, women and children, to work on German agriculture production. Without this forced labor, Germany would not have even been able to maintain its rush through Europe and Russia, as this forced labor accounted for nearly 20% of German food produced throughout the war (Collingham 178). Even...
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...VIETNAM: FOOD PROCESSING In the past 15 years Vietnam was grown from a net importer of food to a substantial exporter. It is the world's second most important exporter of rice, and the world's largest coffee exporter and producer of cashew nuts. Tea, peppers, nuts and spices have become important exports. Rice and coffee account for about half of agricultural export revenues. Soybeans, cashews, sugar cane, peanuts, bananas, poultry, fish and seafood are growing. Vietnam's agricultural exports are vulnerable to international price fluctuations because these exports are largely commodity based. Vietnam's agricultural fishing and forestry industries together produce over US$3 billion of goods annually. Roughly 55% of Vietnam's workforce is employed in agriculture. Commensurate with economic development, the sector had gone from a 25% share of GDP to less than 20% in 2008. Farm products accounted for 22% of the country's income in 2008, down sharply from 50% in 2005. Finally 17% of all of its exports are related to the agricultural, fisheries or food processing industries, down from 55% in 2006. Despite the trend, agriculture will continue to be very important as it raises the productivity of the 70% of Vietnam's population that lives in rural areas. Traditionally, Vietnam has protected agricultural market with regulations and high tariffs. Vietnam's WTO accession reduced tariffs and led to sharp increases in imports ($7.3 billion in agricultural goods by 2008). Key agricultural...
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