 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Can we feed a growing world and sustain the planet?Jonathan Foley No 152408, 2012: The Scramble for Natural Resources: More Food, Less Land?, 9-10 October 2012 from Crawford Fund Abstract: Increasing population and consumption are placing unprecedented demands on agriculture and natural resources across the planet. Today, approximately a billion people are chronically malnourished while our agricultural systems are concurrently degrading land, water, biodiversity and climate on a global scale. To meet the world’s future food security and sustainability needs, food production must grow substantially, while at the same time agriculture’s environmental footprint must shrink dramatically. This paper outlines a framework for potential solutions to this dilemma, showing that tremendous progress could be made by halting agricultural expansion (especially into tropical forests), closing ‘yield gaps’ on underperforming lands, increasing cropping efficiency (especially in terms of water and nutrient use), shifting diets and reducing waste. Together, these strategies could help us double food production while greatly reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture. Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Environmental Economics and Policy; International Relations/Trade; Labor and Human Capital (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:cfcp12:152408 Access Statistics for this paper More papers in 2012: The Scramble for Natural Resources: More Food, Less Land?, 9-10 October 2012 from Crawford Fund |
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