FOOD “Never eat more than you can carry.” - Miss Piggy -

TWO SIDES OF THE FOOD PICTURE

We are a throw-away nation. A study released by the University of Arizona in 2004 revealed that 40 to 50% of all food produced in the U.S. never gets eaten. This is food that could feed people who need it. Also, if this problem were corrected, it could save citizens billions of dollars.

There is only a fine line between harnessing environmental resources to provide goods and services to meet people's needs, and misusing, damaging or overexploiting those resources to the point where people's lives, health or well-being are put at risk and they become vulnerable. - United Nations Global Environmental Program Report, GEO-3 -

UN MAP ON % UNDERNOURISHED BY COUNTRY

HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION RESULT IN A DEFICIENCY OF CALORIES, PROTIEN, AND MICRONUTRIENTS. ACCORDING TO THE FAO, IN , 830 MILLION PEOPLE WERE UNDERNOURISHED.

SOME OF THE PROBLEMS: -CLIMATE CHANGE -FUEL PRICES -MARKET -POPULATION (TO 8 BILLION BY 2025) -LOSS OF FERTILE LAND

A GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS IS DEVELOPING. THE CRISIS IS BASED ON: - INCREASED DEMAND - DECREASED PRODUCTION - RISING FUEL COSTS THE PRICE OF CORN HAS DOUBLED IN THE PAST YEAR. THE PRICE OF RICE HAS TRIPLED IN THE PAST YEAR. INDIA, CHINA, AND VIETNAM HAVE BANNED EXPORTS OF RICE.

THE WORLD BANK HAS RECENTLY PREDICTED THAT 33 COUNTRIES ARE FACING SOCIAL UNREST BECAUSE OF INCREASING FOOD COSTS. THERE HAVE BEEN FOOD RIOTS IN HATI BECAUSE OF FOOD PRICES. THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM, WHICH SUPPORTS 3 MILLION PEOPLE IN DAFUR AND 70 MILLION PEOPLE IN 80 OTHER COUNTRIES IS RUNNING OUT OF MONEY.

MAKING MUD COOKIES IN HATI

AT THE SAME TIME THAT THESE FOOD SHORTAGES EXIST, THE FAO HAS REPORTED THAT WORLD AGRICULTURE PRODUCES 17% MORE CALORIES PER PERSON THAN IT DID 30 YEARS AGO. THERE ARE, ON AVERAGE, 2,720 CALORIES PER PERSON PER DAY AVAILABLE. MUCH OF THIS IS DUE TO THE “GREEN” REVOLUTION THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IN THE PAST 30 YEARS. THE PROBLEMS WITH UNDERNOURISHMENT RELATE TO: -DISTRIBUTION -OVERCONSUMPTION - WASTE

HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN THE EARTH SUPPORT? THE NUMBER DEPENDS ON THE ASSUMPTIONS MADE IN THE MODEL. ONE HAS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT: -FOOD PRODUCTION -WASTE GENERATION -SPACE ALLOWED PER PERSON -KINDS OF RESOURCES REQUIRED -LIFE STYLE

BASED ON CURRENT FOOD PRODUCTION AND CURRENT DIETS, WE ARE THERE - APPROXIMATELY 6.5 BILLION. IF OUR AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM WERE SWITCHED TO AN ALL VEGITARIAN DIET, MAYBE 8 BILLION. IF EVERYONE LIVED THE SAME LIFE STYLE AS PEOPLE IN THE U.S. AND HAD THE SAME DIET, MAYBE 2 BILLION.

INTERESTING FACTS FROM YOUR TEXT: OF THE 10,000 SPECIES THAT HAVE BEEN USED FOR FOOD IN HUMAN HISTORY, ONLY 14 PLANT SPECIES AND 8 TERRESTRIAL ANIMAL SPECIES SUPPLY 90% OF OUR GLOBAL INTAKE OF CALORIES. THREE GRAINS – RICE, CORN, AND WHEAT – PROVIDE MORE THAT HALF THE CALORIES PEOPLE CONSUME.