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Environmental Studies and Forestry Questions

When will global population growth likely plateau and why?

Global population is likely to plateau at 9 billion people approximately by the middle of this century. The factors that will significantly fuel the deceleration include affluence, which translates to high purchasing power and food consumption. Thus, the demand for food and processed products increases adding pressure to the food supply system that will curtail the population growth.

Why do we need to do something different (as compared to the past) to produce more food?

The global population has increased rampantly, and the composition changed to that of affluent individuals in the past decades. Thus, there is increased demand for food by both poor and rich populations. Therefore, food production should be executed in a socially and environmentally sustainable way in order to meet the demand, and ensure that even the poorest populations have enough food.

What is the yield gap? Why does it matter?

Yield gap is the disparity between actual productivity and the expected yield holding factors such as available management, technology, and genetic material constant. Optimal productivity is feasible when farmers have sufficient seed, water, knowledge, nutrients, pest management, soil, biodiversity during the production period. Closing the yield gap is necessary in determining appropriate measures to take in order to increase production as it ought to be depending on the climate, existing technology and management skills.

What are some of the environmental challenges we face with increasing agricultural output?

Increased production and transportation of food because of globalization accelerates greenhouse effects such as gas emissions to the environment. It also causes disruption of the ecosystem due to overfishing, and pollution due to run-off of nutrients. Other environmental effects of increased production include loss of biodiversity and soil degradation through conversion of land and unsuitable management skills, and water shortage because of overexploitation.

How the food waste problem is fundamentally different in developed vs. developing countries?

In developing nations, food wastage mainly occurs due to lack of proper storage and a dysfunctional food-chain infrastructure. Lack of cold storage facilities for fresh and perishable products will cause wastage since the food will go bad before reaching the market. Conversely, in developed countries, food wastage mainly occurs at the retail and service stage especially due to commercial pressures. Lack of knowledge on food safety forces customers to purchase food based on the expiry date causing wastage of the expired food.

What has led to the substantial increase in goats, sheep, cattle, chicken, and pigs over the last 50 years? Why shouldn’t we all be vegetarians?

Over the past 50 years, consumers have become wealthy, increasing demand for meat and dairy products particularly in India and China. Increased demand for the meat and dairy protein has led to the increased population of animals. We should not all be vegetarians because meat is an essential source of minerals and vitamins suitable for proper growth especially in young children. Being vegetarians denies us these essential minerals and vitamins derived from meat.