That "abundant" food supply comes at a cost--at the cost of ecosystems that
are not dependent upon culture, and that once cycled nutrients and energy
through an interdependent assemblage of organisms rather than a system of
increasingly long-range exploitation-depletion "system" that perpetuates the
fiction of "plenty" when what is going on is robbing Peter to pay Paul. This
is an inconvenient truth that can be debated on its merits and details, but
it will not go away at the snap of a presumption. Sooner or later this
bubble will pop.
WT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Liz Pryde" <elizabethpr...@gmail.com>
To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2010 4:17 AM
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] worlds authorities in sustainable ag/meat/ag ecology
Julie makes a very good point. As part of a course I was teaching this
semester we covered the topic 'How to feed the world in 2050'. In
Australia
at least this has become a topic of increasing interest as we face immense
challenges to our current agricultural systems from Climate Change
impacts.
In Australia we have national research groups (CSIRO) and agricultural
organisations (ACIAR) who are responsible for research and development.
There are many people employed in this sector and it covers a variety of
'solutions', from sustainable farming techniques to biotechnology. I would
assume most developed countries would have a large government-funded
sector
working in a similar way (as Julie's email would attest).
Internationally, agricultural ecology is headed up by the FAO (Food and
Agriculture Organisation www.fao.org) who take special interest in
developing countries. There is some very good literature they have
published
on the food crisis of 2008-2009 and what it means for future food
security.
The fact is that we cannot even feed the world at the moment. Millions
starve every year and yet we have an abundant food supply for the world's
current population. There are a few reasons for this - poor farming
techniques in politically insecure nations, poor infrastructure, crop
failure due to drought/flood and other 'natural disasters, food wastage,
biofuels, and most importantly, international trade agreements.
Getting the food where it needs to be at an affordable price does not
happen
with current trade agreements. Also, supplying farmers with the revenue
required for them to maintain a living farming is not occurring in many
underdeveloped and developing countries because of trade issues.
This is a key area of policy that needs to be investigated and remedied
(if
possible) if we want to be able to feed the world in 2050. No new
technology
is going to solve that issue.
Liz
On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 1:13 AM, Wendee Holtcamp <
bohem...@wendeeholtcamp.com> wrote:
Who would you say are the world's leading authorities in agricultural
ecology (how can we feed the world given our rates of consumption,
increased
meat demand, that kind of thing)?
What questions are actively being addressed (besides the above) by
academics
that are hot topics in ag ecology right now for both the US and
internationally?
>From the Bering Sea..
Wendee
My adventures in the Bering Sea ~
http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wendee Holtcamp, M.S. Wildlife Ecology ~ @bohemianone
Freelance Writer * Photographer * Bohemian
http://www.wendeeholtcamp.com <http://www.wendeeholtcamp.com/>
http://bohemianadventures.blogspot.com
<http://bohemianadventures.blogspot.com/>
~~ 6-wk Online Writing Course Starts July 24 (signup by Jun 17) ~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm Animal Planet's news blogger - http://blogs.discovery.com/animal_news
--
Liz Pryde
PhD Candidate (off-campus)
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
James Cook University
Tutor, University of Melbourne
VIC
Australia
0406626716
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