Global food security :: from Do Something's FoodWise web site

In coming decades the world faces the risk of major regional food crises leading to conflicts and mass refugee movements. This is driven primarily by emerging scarcities of all the primary resources required to produce food, in particular science. Award-winning journalist and science writer Julian Cribb outlines key factors in emerging global food insecurity and proposes some solutions.

The problem

The central issue in the human destiny in the coming half century is not climate change or the global financial crisis but the global food crisis.

Water shortage

By 2050, 7-8 billion people will inhabit the world's cities. They will use about 2800 cubic kilometres of fresh water - more than the whole of irrigation agriculture uses worldwide today.

Farm land

The ever-shrinking and degradation of the world's farm land will have serious repercussions on the future supply of food.

Lack of nutrients

The world is haemorrhaging nutrients at every link in the chain between farm and fork. Find out more.

Energy crisis

How will the coming energy crisis affect the global food supply?

Fishing

It's not just the land-based resources that will affect our food, our oceans will be a problem too with 29 per cent of the world's fisheries in a state of collapse.