Feeding the world without wrecking the planet is possible

Almost half of current food production is harmful to our planet – causing biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and water stress. But as world population continues to grow, can that last? A study led by researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) now suggests a comprehensive solution package for feeding 10 billion people within our planet’s environmental boundaries

“When looking at the status of planet Earth and the influence of current global agriculture practices upon it, there’s a lot of reason to worry, but also reason for hope […]”

“Currently, almost half of global food production relies on crossing Earth’s environmental boundaries. We appropriate too much land for crops and livestock, fertilize too heavily and irrigate too extensively. To solve this issue in the face of a still growing world population, we collectively need to rethink how to produce food. […]such transformations will make it possible to provide enough food for up to 10 billion people.”

The researchers ask the question how many people could be fed while keeping a strict standard of environmental sustainability worldwide. […]

[…] in theory 10 billion people can be fed without compromising the Earth system. […] currently, agriculture in many regions is using too much water, land, or fertilizer. Production in these regions thus needs to be brought into line with environmental sustainability. there are huge opportunities to sustainably increase agricultural production in these and other regions.

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Article submitted by, µthos.