Future of Food

In Future of Food, Warren Belasco points out that for hundreds of years there have been people who are concerned that eventually there will not be enough food for everyone. However, with population growth there is also more innovation and there is more than enough food for everyone. This food comes at a cost though. Producing the amount and types of food that we eat now requires large quantities of grain, fossil fuels, water, and soil. Eventually it is very possible that there will not be enough of that. We are enjoying cheap food, but there is a good chance that future generations will suffer the consequences. Belasco proposes two possible solutions. The first relies on technological advancement. So far technology has made it so that the world has enough to eat and maybe technology will continue to be the answer. The future he paints is one were innovation and unnatural food not only feeds everyone, but feeds everyone in a healthy way. The other solution is to essentially go backwards and move away from technology. If people ate locally and worked to produce food at a lower cost to the environment, than food production would be more sustainable. This solution would mean that people are more involved in food production. However, food would most likely be more expensive and there would be less variety.

Currently there is more than enough food and yet there are still hungry people. It seems overwhelming to think that the population will continue to grow and at the same time many of the resources used in food production may run out.  Both solutions make sense, but it is hard to say whether they would actually work. The first solution would require a lot of technological advancements that may not really be possible. The second solution would require that everyone work together and make sacrifices. People like to have choices and low costs. Hopefully we find a way to feed everyone in a healthy, effective way.  

Are either of the two “fixes” plausible?

Are there any other possible solutions?

Will there ever not be enough food to feed the population?