Article
With some of our most powerful computer models predicting drought in our most trusted and dependable farming latitudes, there is much worry about the future state of world food security. This article discusses details gathered from the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report regarding food scarcity. The article found that it was concluded that the previous prediction of high magnitude disruptions in the food cycle by 2050 may be occurring much sooner in the next 20-30 years. This short amount of time makes it seem that the urgency to secure a stable food system that can meet the demand for a growing population is quite urgent.
1. If there were such a disruption in food security (and the article already outlines evidence of the beginnings of such disruptions) with crop failure and subsequent price inflation, what will that mean for current trends in such places as Europe and the United States for smaller-scale "slow food" system?
2. There is predicted to be massive increases in Africa revolving around food scarcity for example. What might this mean for proposed GMO cropping systems to be put in place there? What if a specific drought resistant variety of GMO were developed?
1) The trends, which are often environment-focused, will have to adapt to foods that are able to be produced under the given conditions without too much environmental strain.
ReplyDelete2) I fear that the further development of drought-resistant seeds will lead to a greater monopolization of seeds and reduction in biodiversity. Maybe a less dangerous approach would be to focus more energy into research for the optimization of water use. But I really don't know. Climate change, especially abrupt, can do intense damage. A long-term (really,really long term) approach would be to take actions and ask for policies that decrease the amount of anthropogenic global warming. For example, more CO2 caps and using more forms of alternative energy. I know, it all sounds so masticated and generalized, but I do not think that drought-resistant GMOs are he solution judging from the effects of Green Revolution technologies on the modern food system.