Feeding the World : A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century

by Vaclav Smil

• ISBN13: 9780262194327
• ISBN10: 0262194325
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-04-03
• Publisher: Mit Pr

Summary

This book addresses the question of how we can best feed the ten billion or so people who will likely inhabit the Earth by the middle of the twenty-first century. He asks whether human ingenuity can produce enough food to support healthy and vigorous lives for all these people without irreparably damaging the integrity of the biosphere. What makes this book different from other books on the world food situation is its consideration of the complete food cycle, from agriculture to post-harvest losses and processing to eating and discarding. Taking a scientific approach, Smil espouses neither the catastrophic view that widespread starvation is imminent nor the cornucopian view that welcomes large population increases as the source of endless human inventiveness. He shows how we can make more effective use of current resources and suggests that if we increase farming efficiency, reduce waste, and transform our diets, future needs may not be as great as we anticipate. Smil's message is that the prospects may not be as bright as we would like, but the outlook is hardly disheartening. Although inaction, late action, or misplaced emphasis may bring future troubles, we have the tools to steer a more efficient course. There are no insurmountable biophysical reasons we cannot feed humanity in the decades to come while easing the burden that modern agriculture puts on the biosphere.

Author Biography

Vaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor of Geography at the University of Manitoba, Canada.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	ix
Reasons for Concern	1	(22)
Demographic Imperatives	6	(2)
Dietary Transitions	8	(3)
End of an Era?	11	(12)
Appraising the Basics	23	(42)
Photosynthesis and Crop Productivity	25	(5)
Land, Water, and Nutrients	30	(22)
Agroecosystems and Biodiversity	52	(13)
Environmental Change and Agroecosystems	65	(40)
Changing Soils	67	(13)
Environmental Pollution	80	(10)
What Could Climate Change Do	90	(15)
Toward Higher Cropping Efficiencies	105	(36)
More Efficient Fertilization	108	(17)
Better Use of Water	125	(10)
Precision Farming	135	(6)
Rationalizing Animal Food Production	141	(40)
Feeding Efficiencies and Resource Claims	145	(18)
Opportunities in Milk and Meat Production	163	(8)
Aquacultural Possibilities	171	(10)
Consuming the Harvests	181	(30)
Harvests and Postharvest Losses	182	(6)
How Much Food Do We Have?	188	(8)
How Much Food Do We Eat?	196	(15)
How Much Food Do We Need?	211	(38)
Human Energetics	215	(12)
Protein Needs	227	(8)
Comparisons and Implications	235	(14)
Searching for Optimum Diets	249	(42)
Nutritional Transitions	250	(14)
Nutrition, Health, and Disease	264	(12)
Optimized Diets	276	(15)
If China Could Do It...	291	(26)
China's Predicament	292	(7)
Available Resources and Existing Inefficiencies	299	(10)
Realistic Solutions	309	(8)
References	317	(36)
Index	353