GR: If we stay on our present path bringing 200,000 more mouths to feed into the world every morning, bugs and algae will be well on their way to replacing hamburger by 2050. The article below and many like it, consider feeding our growing population a challenge, not a catastrophe. Need to change.
A Chilean fishing vessel nets some 400 tons of mackerel. NOAA
“Our planet faces a growing food crisis. According to the United Nations, more than 800 million people are regularly undernourished. By 2050, an additional 2 to 3 billion new guests will join the planetary dinner table.
Photobioreactors produce algae using a light source and carbon dioxide.IGV Biotech, CC BY-SA
“Meeting this challenge involves not only providing sufficient calories for every person, but also assuring a balanced diet that includes the protein and nutrients that are essential to good health. In a newly published study, we explain how marine microalgae could be a sustainable solution for solving global macro-hunger.
Problems with Current Food Production Systems
“The current Western diet requires vast amounts of land, water and energy, is heavily polluting and is a major contributor to climate change. Providing nutritious food for an ever-growing global population with increasing per capita demand is pushing our current food production system beyond its limits.
Land and water requirements for the production of essential amino acids from various sources: freshwater usage and annual land productivity. Industrial Biotechnology, CC BY-ND
“Livestock production is replacing forests with cropland and pastures for meat and animal feed. Nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizer used to grow feed grain and other crops is degrading soils and creating biological dead zones in some 400 estuaries around the world.” –William Moomaw and Asaf Tzachor (How Marine Algae Could Help Feed the World).
