This chapter visits and re-emphasizes the need for a transdisciplinary approach to sustainable food production. It underscores that there are tensions between the social needs of equitable (and maximal) food security and sustainable food systems and it emphasizes that any policy on food sustainability will therefore produce winners and losers. It shows a Doughnut model for combining social and planetary boundaries, depicting social shortfalls and ecological overshoots, as well as ecologically safe and socially just space. The discussion also touches on the ethics for food sustainability, discussing the Golden Rule and its application to future generations and other species. Finally, the discussion returns to exploring projections and looks at the future challenges to be faced.
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Summary
A view towards the future
Chapter
The Human Population and Its Food Supply in the 21st Century
Maarten J. Chrispeels and Hanya E. Chrispeels
This chapter discusses the past, present, and future of the human population and its relationship to food production. In the past, the uncertainties of food production too often have led to food insecurity, and the future holds further uncertainties posed by climate change. Rapid urbanization in developing countries is changing where vegetables are grown and how they are made available to consumers. The depopulation of the land means that farming will have to become more efficient and less labour intensive. There is agreement among agricultural scientists that the way forward is to increase the productivity of farmland everywhere and to do this sustainably, reducing the impact of agriculture on the environment. The chapter then looks at how government policies play pivotal roles in global food production, as well as the importance of agricultural research and biotechnology.
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Nutrition, the Environment, and Sustainable Diets
Tim Lang and Pamela Mason
This chapter explores key ways in which the environment shapes human nutrition and vice versa: how what people eat reflects how they treat and think of the environment. Nutrition has traditionally focused on the availability and interaction of nutrients in food and the influence of nutrients, foods, and diet on human health. In the twenty-first century, calls have become stronger for nutrition science to recognize how ecosystems underpin food systems and food systems are key drivers of environmental degradation. Issues such as energy, climate change, biodiversity, water, land use, and soil all shape food systems, the availability of nutrients, and food production. Ultimately, the future of food systems and nutrition is likely to hinge on whether food production and consumption can become more sustainable. The chapter then considers the role of governments, non-governmental organizations, the food industry, and nutritionists in promoting both healthy and sustainable diets.
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Sustainable Food Production in the 21st Century
Maarten J. Chrispeels
This chapter discusses sustainable food production in the 21st century. Because virtually all available productive land is already being cultivated, the only way to significantly increase food production is through agricultural intensification: increasing the amount of crop produced per acre. Closing the yield gap, especially on smallholder farms, is essential to feeding humanity. Both breeding better crops through genetics and better agronomic practices are needed to close the yield gap. Research and education at all levels are also necessary. Moreover, all countries need to diminish the amount of food that is spoiled and otherwise wasted. Ultimately, creating a sustainable world will require decreasing the impact of agriculture on climate change.
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Water
How does agriculture impact freshwater resources?
Paul F. Hudson
This chapter explores the impacts of agriculture on freshwater resources, which are essential to human sustenance and sustainable food production. It explains how freshwater is distributed and how excessive pumping of groundwater from aquifers to support irrigation drives land subsidence which in turn increases flood risk and coastal erosion. Furthermore, it discusses how humans have shaped their landscape to have access to water. The chapter also looks at how dams impact rivers and biodiversity by degrading habitat variability and the storage of large volumes of river sediment, and mentions the trend of dam removal in Europe and North America. The discussion also covers the concept of environmental flows that are embedded in modern integrated approaches to river basin management.
