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Food Supply & Human Future

ironhajee
ironhajee Posts: 384 Member
Hey MFP,

Let's also discuss this topic casually,

Given our rapid reproductive growth as a society and it's projection to hit over 10 billion population in "x" ammount of time, and the rate of deforestation and the slaughter of animals and the vicious cycle that society is handcuffed too, does food run out at some point?

It's a finite world we live in.

It's like that movie Infinity Wars where Thanos has to kill 50% of the universe so that the rest can continue to live.

Or like INTERSTELLAR where food sources stop growing completely and all that's left was corn

Although unrealistic .... food security may not be a concern for our generations but certainly in the years to come given our patterns of consumption will become an inevitability. Does the younger generations then realize the mistakes of our forefathers and transition gradually into more plant based nutrition sources and divert more towards reinforcing our agricultural industries (we are already seeing a growing movement towards vegan and vegetarian diets based primarily for morality but also couple with health benefits)


I myself eat both (plant and animal) but the question does make you think about it.




What are your thoughts about food scarcity
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Replies

  • ironhajee
    ironhajee Posts: 384 Member
    Insects are the answer.

    Hmm..
  • Sloth2016
    Sloth2016 Posts: 838 Member
    100_PROOF_ wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    A lot of previous discussion on the same topic here: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10667802/how-long-can-society-sustain-its-growing-population/p1

    Animals are a renewable food source. They reproduce. They also provide renewable food sources on their own, such as chickens/eggs.

    I don't see any moral superiority or documented health improvements from a vegan/vegetarian diet. I don't see anything wrong with it if that's what somebody chooses, but "morality" in this sense is a subjective individual decision. Any diet is as "healthy" or "unhealthy" as somebody chooses to make it.



    ironhajee wrote: »
    ...It's like that movie Infinity Wars where Thanos has to kill 50% of the universe so that the rest can continue to live...
    I'm not sure genocide would be a morally or logistically feasible strategy. Seems a bit extreme. Definitely not healthy for at least 50% of the population, either.

    Still better than Chipotle.

    I just saw a thread about Chipotle! Someone said it's like poison.

    * Eats burrito while typing*

    In the future, it will be delivered to you by a drone: https://www.abc10.com/article/tech/mind-blown-drones-to-deliver-chipotle-burritos/315749266
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    A lot of previous discussion on the same topic here: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10667802/how-long-can-society-sustain-its-growing-population/p1

    Animals are a renewable food source. They reproduce. They also provide renewable food sources on their own, such as chickens/eggs.

    I don't see any moral superiority or documented health improvements from a vegan/vegetarian diet. I don't see anything wrong with it if that's what somebody chooses, but "morality" in this sense is a subjective individual decision. Any diet is as "healthy" or "unhealthy" as somebody chooses to make it.



    ironhajee wrote: »
    ...It's like that movie Infinity Wars where Thanos has to kill 50% of the universe so that the rest can continue to live...
    I'm not sure genocide would be a morally or logistically feasible strategy. Seems a bit extreme. Definitely not healthy for at least 50% of the population, either.

    There was also a thread by @bpetrosky on some of the newer farming technologies that was interesting. I couldn't seem to find it yesterday.
  • slimgirljo15
    slimgirljo15 Posts: 269,456 Member
    I image maybe a few hundred years from now we'll be sitting down to a plate of little white cubes, one will be roast chicken flavoured, another peas, another potato.. all synthetic.. yummy :D
  • 100_PROOF_
    100_PROOF_ Posts: 1,168 Member
    Sloth2016 wrote: »
    100_PROOF_ wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    A lot of previous discussion on the same topic here: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10667802/how-long-can-society-sustain-its-growing-population/p1

    Animals are a renewable food source. They reproduce. They also provide renewable food sources on their own, such as chickens/eggs.

    I don't see any moral superiority or documented health improvements from a vegan/vegetarian diet. I don't see anything wrong with it if that's what somebody chooses, but "morality" in this sense is a subjective individual decision. Any diet is as "healthy" or "unhealthy" as somebody chooses to make it.



    ironhajee wrote: »
    ...It's like that movie Infinity Wars where Thanos has to kill 50% of the universe so that the rest can continue to live...
    I'm not sure genocide would be a morally or logistically feasible strategy. Seems a bit extreme. Definitely not healthy for at least 50% of the population, either.

    Still better than Chipotle.

    I just saw a thread about Chipotle! Someone said it's like poison.

    * Eats burrito while typing*

    In the future, it will be delivered to you by a drone: https://www.abc10.com/article/tech/mind-blown-drones-to-deliver-chipotle-burritos/315749266

    That would be awesome!
    I'm just wondering if it'll really stay hot though?
    I'll be eagerly awaiting the burritos from the sky!
  • This content has been removed.
  • yukfoo
    yukfoo Posts: 871 Member
    It's estimated that we will reach 9.7+ billion people by 2050. Most world authorities believe 10 billion is the tipping point to earths capacity. Even in the case of maximum efficiency, in which all the grains grown are dedicated to feeding humans (instead of livestock, which is an inefficient way to convert plant energy into food energy), there's still a limit to how far the available quantities can stretch. "If everyone agreed to become vegetarian, leaving little or nothing for livestock, the present 1.4 billion hectares of arable land (3.5 billion acres) would support about 10 billion people," (The 3.5 billion acres would produce approximately 2 billion tons of grains annually, he explained. That's enough to feed 10 billion vegetarians, but would only feed 2.5 billion U.S. omnivores, because so much vegetation is dedicated to livestock and poultry in the United States. (Harvard University sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson).
  • yukfoo
    yukfoo Posts: 871 Member
    I don't have to be faster than them...just faster than you...lol
  • slimgirljo15
    slimgirljo15 Posts: 269,456 Member
    yukfoo wrote: »
    I don't have to be faster than them...just faster than you...lol

    :laugh: .. true!!
  • yukfoo
    yukfoo Posts: 871 Member
    edited September 2018
    Nahhh...all this will take care of itself. A massive solar flare, billions would starve. Anarchy. An extinction level asteroid? Hey isn't it about time for another Spanish flu outbreak? 70-90% of the world won't be able to outrun that. Doesn't matter. I have a luxury bunker complete with interdimentional portal and I'm takin' you with me...
  • Keto_Vampire
    Keto_Vampire Posts: 1,670 Member
    edited September 2018
    I image maybe a few hundred years from now we'll be sitting down to a plate of little white cubes, one will be roast chicken flavoured, another peas, another potato.. all synthetic.. yummy :D

    Nah Jo, it will be more like Transformers as human-cyborgs will require large glowing cubes of energy for sustanence
  • SandSeaSkySoul
    SandSeaSkySoul Posts: 212 Member
    edited September 2018
    We're also helping, to preserve land for farming & thus our existence by building up rather than out, transforming flat roofs into gardens & cremation or donation, rather than the burial of our dead!
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Peak population is not that far away. I think I’ll see it before I die.

    Vertical gardens.
    https://www.iflscience.com/environment/china-to-get-vertical-gardens-in-2018-to-help-tackle-smog/

    We were supposed to run out of food and fossil fuels a long time ago. I started seeing these predictions since the seventies.

    What happened? The green revolution.

    Farming looks quite a bit different than from my childhood, and it continues to be more sustainable and efficient.
  • 100_PROOF_
    100_PROOF_ Posts: 1,168 Member
    ironhajee wrote: »
    Hey MFP,

    Let's also discuss this topic casually,

    Given our rapid reproductive growth as a society and it's projection to hit over 10 billion population in "x" ammount of time, and the rate of deforestation and the slaughter of animals and the vicious cycle that society is handcuffed too, does food run out at some point?

    It's a finite world we live in.

    It's like that movie Infinity Wars where Thanos has to kill 50% of the universe so that the rest can continue to live.

    Or like INTERSTELLAR where food sources stop growing completely and all that's left was corn

    Although unrealistic .... food security may not be a concern for our generations but certainly in the years to come given our patterns of consumption will become an inevitability. Does the younger generations then realize the mistakes of our forefathers and transition gradually into more plant based nutrition sources and divert more towards reinforcing our agricultural industries (we are already seeing a growing movement towards vegan and vegetarian diets based primarily for morality but also couple with health benefits)


    I myself eat both (plant and animal) but the question does make you think about it.




    What are your thoughts about food scarcity



    Many years ago, governments charged food scientists with the task of making calorie dense foods full of preservatives for the reason you stated.

    Now we deal with an obesity epidemic in places like Africa.

    Extreme poverty worldwide has been reduced 50%. It took 5 years, once the UN determined it was one of their goals.

    For all the negativity about pesticides, non-organic farming produces larger yields, which is why they did it in the first instance.

    There are two things to consider that isn't directly related, but may give some insight:

    Chernobyl and glass beach, North Carolina.

    After the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, the unihabitable land is thriving with wildlife 30 years later.

    In North Carolina, a polluted beach that was a garbage dump had a clean up effort - the large applicances were removed, but the broken glass remained. The surf has smoothed over the glass over the years, turning it into jewlery quality stones covering the beach and creating a colorful landscape in the water which has attracted a large number of fish who now make glass beach their home. It is so beautiful, it is now a tourist attraction.



    Three woos, and all I did was present facts. People don't like facts?


    Even wonderful facts like the reduction in extreme poverty?


    What is wrong with people?

    Facts? Back your facts up. Start with the obesity crisis in Africa.

    I'd also like to see the research on the obesity epidemic in Africa.