Healthy Food for All
Environment
UN figures show that global food supplies are more than adequate, producing 1.5 times the amount required to feed the world. But desertification and soil erosion are rapidly decreasing the available arable land. Alternative food production systems need greater credence: Cuba now produces more food than before with greatly reduced chemical inputs. Permaculture cultivation produces more energy than it consumes, and is operational in many countries. Domestication of edible wild perennials can increase per-acre yields and may herald a new agricultural revolution.
Why are we allowing 35,000 people to die of starvation every day and how can the human right to nourishing food be implemented? Is a reduction of global meat production necessary? How can pesticide poisoning of some 25 million people a year be prevented? Can organic farming feed the world? What are the pros and cons of subsidized large-scale agribusiness? What are the best ways to reform it? Can we develop a new social contract between society and agriculture, assuring sustainable yields and healthy food from efficiently farmed land?
