Seven Challenges for Sustainability
Challenge 3 -
Global Food Security
PhD Course
Assignment on Challenge 3 –
Food Security
Attend the lecturers and debate May 26-27.
Participate in group discussion the May 27 at 15-17 hrs.
Write an individual one page paper on each of the two questions.
Lecture Notes
Michael Lipton
Crop science, poverty and the family farm in a globalising world
(draft – do not cite)
Pdf file »
Göran Djurfeldt and Rolf Larsson
Agricultural policy, technology and
food security in the African maize sector
Pdf file »
Two questions on Food Security:
1) Options for meeting future demands?
The world population is expected to increase by some 50 % over the coming 4-6 decades until it stabilises at about 10 billion inhabitants. At the same time the demand for food will also increase through increasing consumption levels. Due to these two factors combined, there are reasons to believe that the global demand for food will double by 2050 compare to the present consumption.
• How can humankind face this challenge? Discuss various options (such as increasing area of cultivation, changing diets, improved crops, improved land management, improved logistics, decreased post-harvest losses etc) for increasing the food availability.
2) Trans-disciplinary research towards food security
Natural science (including engineering sciences) and social science have common but differential roles in relation to solutions for global food security.
• How can and should the different scientific fields work towards the common goal of ensuring food security for everybody? Discuss at a level of your choice (e.g. undergraduate education, Vice-chancellor of a university, individual researcher, ...) how you see this could be achieved in practice.
Reading list - Food Security
The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2002
FAO Report
http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/Y7352E/Y7352E00.HTM
World Food Security Deteriorating:
Food Crunch in 2005 Now Likely
Lester Brown
Earth Policy Institute
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update40.htm
China´s Shrinking Grain Harvest
How Its Growing Grain Imports Will Affect World Food Prices
Lester Brown
Earth Policy Institute
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update36.htm
Feeding the Ten Billion: Plants and population growth.
Evans, L. T. (1998). Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Feeding the world: is there enough for everyone?
Dyson, T. (1999).
http://www.id21.org/zinter/id21zinter.exe?a=0&i=2ald2&u=40b461d0
World food trends and prospects to 2025
Tim Dyson (1999)
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/96/11/5929
The doubly green revolution: Food for all in the twenty-first century
Conway, G. (1997). London, Penguin Books.
Mera mat: Att brödföda en växande befolkning
Djurfeldt, G. (2001).
Lund, Arkiv förlag.
|
