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The Coming Famine : risks and opportunities for global food security risks and opportunities for global food security Julian Cribb FTSE Food Integrity R&D Forum Brisbane, May 11, 2011
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Rising demand Global food demand
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A wicked problem.... DEMAND: 242,000 more people every day Population >11.4 billion by mid 2060s 600 petacalories/day Food demand doubles CONSTRAINTS: ‘Peak water’ ‘Peak land’ ‘Peak oil’ ‘Peak P’ ‘Peak fish’ R&D drought Climate extinction
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Peak Water “Current estimates indicate that we will not have enough water to feed ourselves in 25 years time...” – Colin Chartres, IWMI.
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Vanishing lakes, rivers & aquifers Colorado mouth 5 Lake Chad Murray mouth
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A thirsty race... Total human water use: 7450 cubic kms We each use 1240t/yr In a lifetime, we use:
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Peak Land Farmland per person
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Megacities: mega-risks By 2050... 7.7 billion will inhabit cities whose land area = China They will use 2800 cu kms water By 2030...
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Nutrient crisis Nutrient 5 Nutrientpollution Peak phosphorus 5 5 World P reserves
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The Great Waste SIWI 2008 5 tonnes of food wasted by avg. family in a month. (USDA)
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Peak Oil Peak oil Algae farms?
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Foundering fisheries “The maximum wild capture fishery potential from the world’s oceans has probably been reached.” - FAO
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Climate instability 5 4x more drought Global soil moisture forecast 4 Scientific consensus: 25% less food More floods
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Climate impact on food ? Source: Dr James Martin, 21 st Century School, Oxford: Commonwealth Lecture 2010
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The food challenge Double global food output with: - half the present fresh water - far less land - no fossil fuels (eventually) - scarce and very costly fertilisers - less technology - more drought & climate variability.
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Knowledge drought 35 R&D stagnation
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Future conflicts UK Ministry of Defence threat assessment 2008
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Soaring food prices ▲ Egypt’s regime change began with food price protests Food prices have peaked twice in three years 6
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Rising tide Each year: Refugees - 43m Migrants - 205m
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Solutions Solutions 1: reinvent food, recycle Double food R&D to $80bn globally a year Invest $80bn to share the food knowledge among farmers, cooks, consumers Reinvent farming systems to use less land, water, energy, nutrients, pesticides End waste: recycle all organic waste and water into new food & resource industries Educate people to respect and value food.
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Vegies Vegies in the sky
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Biocultures
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1000 new healthfoods
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Amazing opportunities EDIBLE PLANTS World: 23,400 Aust: 6,132 USA: 3,920 Source: Dr Bruce French www.foodplantsinternational.com.
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Revegetate, recarbonise, rehydrate
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Solutions: A Food Year A Food Year in every junior school on the planet Teach new respect for food: how to eat for health and sustainability OR ? ?
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New food rating system? Water rating Soil impact Raw nutrient content Ethical rating Freshness rating Nutritional content Health rating Energy &carbon
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Solutions: pay more for food Today’s globalised food prices Signal farmers to grow less Destroy land, water and climate Prompt huge waste of food Promote over-nutrition & kill consumers Increase poverty and hunger Undermine global food security Destroy rural communities and food research Food prices must increase to encourage re- investment in food and farming Barriers to food trade must be abolished
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The food industry’s role… Develop new diets, recipes and cuisines based on plant diversity Design for health and sustainability Choose foods that use less water, energy & other inputs Send the right food signals to farmers, fishers and food producers Send the right price signals to protect the agro-ecosystem.
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Debate global food security on: http://www.sciencealert.com.au/global -food-crisis Thank you “The Coming Famine” is published by the University of California Press and CSIRO Publishing.It was supported by the Crawford Fund and Land & Water Australia. PLEASE FOLLOW: ComingFamine on Twitter
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