Introduction
Climate
change is already reducing the amount of food available worldwide and will
continue to increase the cost and availability of food. To understand the effect of climate
change on food, it is important to examine the system of food production and
agriculture. Many experts examine
the way agriculture operates under capitalism, arguing that while there have
been major increases in the quantity of food produced, these have often been at
the expense of the environment (Campbell-Lendrum, Corvalan & Neira 2007). This essay will examine how current
agricultural methods are creating climate change, as well as exploiting the
developing world. To supply equitable distribution of food to the entire global
population, the importance of critical research and action on at individual,
institutional and global levels is highlighted.
Climate Change
Climate
change has come about through increasing greenhouse gases in our atmosphere
(Campbell-Lendrum, Corvalan & Neira 2007). Global warming is largely a result of human activities such
as burning of fossil fuels (Campbell-Lendrum, Corvalan & Neira 2007). The earth’s surface
temperature has risen significantly in the last three decades and it will
continue to rise by 1.1 to 6.4 degrees Celsius over the 21st century
(Campbell-Lendrum, Corvalan & Neira 2007). Many climate experts argue that a temperature rise of 2
degrees Celsius worldwide is the tipping point for catastrophic, irreversible
climate change (Jay & Marmot 2009).
Climate
change has a range of complex effects on the natural system upon which human
beings depend. Climate warming has been linked to more extreme weather
conditions such as droughts, floods and severe storms. Millions of environmental refugees have been displaced by
extreme weather and slow shifts in weather patterns (Campbell-Lendrum, Corvalan
& Neira 2007). Rising sea
levels and the effects of droughts and floods will have increasing effects on
the quantity and quality of agricultural land. Biodiversity shifts through
ecosystem change will continue to have dramatic effects, including changing
patterns of pest and diseases and competition from invading species. As the climate changes, water
availability and contamination will become an increasingly significant global
concern (Boxall et al 2009, Campbell-Lendrum, Corvalan & Neira 2007).
History of Agriculture
In
many rich countries, modern agriculture has allowed the generation of surplus
food for an increasing population (Helms 2004). Between the 1940s and the 1970s, major advances in food technology
such as fertilizers, pesticides and farm machine technology have resulted in
huge increases in the amount of food that farmers are able to grow (Singh
2009). In Australia, this increase
in efficiency has resulted in food being significantly cheaper for the consumer
(Read & Jones 2002). It used
to be that the worker would spend 60-80 percent of their earnings on food for a
family. These days, the equivalent
expenditure is more like 20-30 percent (Read & Jones 2002).
Industrialisation,
the rise of agriculture and the globalization of the food system, provide a
number of challenges to the global food supply. Unsustainable farming methods have left 40 percent of the
world’s
agricultural land seriously degraded.
In the next ten years, up to 50 million hectares of agricultural land in
Australia will become too acidic for plant growth. Current farming methods are
reliant on excessive water, ploughing, as well as synthetic pesticides and
fertilizers. These methods are
stripping nutrients from soils. Pesticides are being increasingly used to treat crops that
are vulnerable to pests and diseases, further leading to soils that cannot be
used for the growing of food crops (Leahy 2008, Worsley 2008).
Sixteen
million hectares of land in developing countries are planted for export crops
of tea, coffee and cocoa, thus taking away the capacity to feed local
populations. Annually, 100 million
kilograms of meat are exported to the USA from Central America, mostly from
land that was recently tropical rainforest (Leahy 2008). Land and labour in
developing countries is being used unsustainably to produce food for the richer
countries.
Current
food production methods (such as monocultural agriculture) are responsible for
deforestation. Burning forests
releases carbon into the atmosphere, contributing about one-sixth of global
carbon emissions. If forests are
left standing, they absorb about one tenth of global carbon emissions (Boxall
et al 2007).
Oil
is a limited resource on our planet.
Increasing oil prices will increase the cost of food, as we are
dependent upon oil for the production and transportation of food. Most forecasters estimate that oil will
become much more expensive by 2020 (Singh 2009, Leahy 2008).
Under
globalization, richer countries buy food commodities from poorer regions like
India and South America (Worsley 2008). In the USA today, the average distance
food has travelled to reach the plate is 2000 kilometers (Leahy 2008). Globalization has made food production
less localized and more dependent on cheap labour and fuel for its production
and transport (Jay 2009).
Alternatives
to petroleum such as the use of biofuel to produce energy is an unsuitable
solution to depleting worldwide oil resources. In 2008, 18 percent of the USA’s grain production
was converted into biofuel.
This diverts from food crop production (placing extra pressure on
agriculture), increasing the cost of food (Singh 2009).
Increased
food production that has given us an abundance in first world countries like
Australia, are not sustainable, contributing significantly to global warming,
and will lead to a rise in the cost of food (Helms 2004). The current food
system is responsible for around 40 percent of greenhouse gas omissions
worldwide (Worsley 2008).
Worldwide Food Security
As
human beings are dependant on the natural environment for their food, and this
environment is rapidly changing, the issue of the global food supply must be
understood in relation to climate change.
Food security is concerned with understanding and creating a stable food
supply for the entire world, not just the people of Australia or the rich first
world countries. (Leahy 2008).
One
quarter of the world’s population does not have enough food (Worsley
2008). 840 million people do not
get enough energy and protein in their diet and at least another billion are anemic
and suffer food shortages (Leahy 2008).
In 2002, there was enough food to feed the world’s population, yet
800 million people lived in absolute poverty, affected by malnutrition and
undernourishment (Helms 2004).
The
cost of rice in Thailand, India and Pakistan doubled in 2007. Asian families often spend half their
weekly budget on food and rice is a staple food in many of these countries
(Singh 2009). Communities that are most vulnerable to food security are those
places where malnutrition is already the largest single contributor to disease
(Campbell-Lendrum, Corvalan & Neira 2007). Jay and Marmot (2009) indicate that it is in Africa and
other places that where poverty, lack of resources, infrastructure and
sometimes government, will be effected the most by climate change related food
security.
Problematically
for these countries, 80 percent of the land is owned by three percent of the
population (Leahy 2008). In these
countries, as in the rich countries responsible for most of the world’s climate change,
environmental problems could be further increased by the adoption of modern
agricultural methods and competition on the international market (Leahy 2008).
Capitalism
It
has been argued that as developing countries come out of poverty, their
adoption of capitalist lifestyles will cause the global food supply problem
will get worse. As people become
more affluent, their consumption of grain increases, as do their consumptions
of fruit, vegetables and animal foods (Helms 2004). While ensuring that we address poverty through immediate
action, long-term production needs to be sustainable or we will just be
creating more problems.
Economic
and social forces uphold the value of meat, discouraging people in the rich
Western countries from adopting a diet that is less reliant on meat (Helms
2004). One quarter of the world’s population
consumes unnecessary amounts of animal proteins and vegetarianism is seen to
compare favourably to present diets, in terms of land use (Helms 2004). Singh (2009) 1kg of beef requires 7kg
grain, 10 000 liters water, I kg beef, 1000-2000 for same amount grain.
In
Australia, two-thirds of the food retailing is controlled by two supermarket
chains, Coles and Woolworths (Read & Jones 2002). These businesses are largely governed by profits rather than
social and environmental responsibility, so the power they have in controlling
what the public think and the availability of environmentally sustainable
products (those that have not travelled far to get to us and have been grown
under sustainable conditions) is immense.
Solutions
Solutions
to the problem of the global food supply in the face of global warming include
increasing food production, addressing population, finding alternatives to
fossil fuels, and others look at changes to the modes of agriculture through
locally grown produce. There is a
need to use less energy, produce energy in different ways, and adopt
agricultural methods that do not make any more land arid. (Singh 2009; Helms
2004).
Locally Grown Food and better ways of
growing
Leahy
(2008) examines alternatives to the current agricultural system by upholding
that use no artificial fertilizers and synthetic fertilizers, using crop
rotation, planting legumes and living mulch. More research regulation, monitoring, development into more
sustainable use is important (Nijkamp & Vindigni 2002; Boxall et al
2009). Polycultural systems would
be less reliant on fossil fuels as we would produce almost all our food in the
local neighborhood (Leahy 2008).
Singh recognizes that there is great potential for local food production
and that state planners need to recognize this (Singh 2009).
Individual Change
As
individuals, we need to continue to understand and challenge our acceptance of
a capitalist system. Our actions
in all arenas of our life need to place the environment with regard, as it is a
system upon which we are dependant.
Leahy (2008) works with the notion that we are allowing the government
to place the environment last by participating uncritically in a system where
we accept that increasing affluence will bring us happiness (Howard 2010; Leahy
2008).
Keys,
Thomsen & Smith (2009) argues that the amount and quality of political
discussion within social networks is associated with higher levels of political
participation. As individuals we
need to get more involved in how things are run, otherwise the fight for the
environment will be lost.
Institutional Change
The
sustainable development commission argues that there needs to be incentives
offered to producers, processors, food retailers and consumers (Jones 2008).
Retailers
need to integrate sustainability into their core business (Jones 2008). While business may claim to be doing
this, there appears to be much evidence that this is largely hearsay (Howard
2010).
Governments
needs to support sustainable land use and set up a physical and social
structures necessary for an economy without cheap oil (Leahy 2008). Jones and Hllier (2008) government
policies need to support major food retailers in delivering a more sustainable
food system. Needs to be more
research into what they can do to limit the power of capitalism to destroy the
environment.
Global change
Campbell-Lendrum,
D., Corvalan, C., & Neira, M. (2007) recognizes that while change at
regional and state levels is important, international agreements are
important. He mentions Kyoto Protocol
and US key negotiator in 1997 of its development, yet renouncing it in
2001. This global action is
necessary because it is a global problem and we have created this problem for
the developing world. If the rest
of the developing world were to adopt capitalist agricultural practices there
would be no resources and the resultant warming of the globe would further
compromise the environment.
Conclusion
The
effects of global warming are providing challenges to worldwide food security,
limiting our food supply and making it more expensive. Under capitalism, complex systems have
developed that have left us disconnected with our absolute reliance on the
environment. Action must be taken
on an individual, institutional and global level to understand and combat
further climate change. Research
into new methods of transport and agriculture are important. At the same time, it is critical that
as human beings, we examine the systems under which we live and enact change
through individual action and political action. We must force the retail industry to change. We must encourage governments to
understand change, as the systems that are creating global warming continue to
thrive (any system that relies on unsustainable farming methods and cheap
transport to provide cheap food).
Current practices are increasing the degradation of soils and
governments need to undertake research greener
technologies. They also need to
regulate players in the food system and ensure that they are acting out of
environmental interests. If there
is any hope of worldwide food security, which should be the goal of any ethical
person, as individuals and groups, we need to demand that governments act
globally, by developing and adhering to international agreements.
References
Boxall, A., Hardy, A., Beulke, S., Boucard, T., Burgin, L., Falloon,
P., . . . Williams, R. (2009). Impacts of climate change on indirect human exposure to
pathogens and chemicals from agriculture.
Environmental Health Perspectives,
117(4), 508-514.
Campbell-Lendrum, D., Corvalan, C., & Neira, M. (2007). Global climate change: Implications for
international public health policy.
Bulletin of the World Health
Organisation, 85(3), 235-237.
Helms, M. (2004). Food
sustainability, food security and the environment. British Food Journal,
106(5), 380-387.
Howard, A. (2010). Perspectives on practice: A new global ethic. Journal
of Management Development, 29(5), 506-517.
Jay, M., & Marmot, M. (2009). Health and climate change. The Lancet,
374(9694), 961-962.
Jones, P., Comfort, D., & Hillier, D. (2008). Moving towards sustainable food
retailing?. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management,
36(12), 995-1001.
Keys, N., Thomsen, D., & Smith, T. (2010). Opinion leaders and complex
sustainability issues. Management of
Environmental Quality: An
International Journal, 21(2), 187-197.
Leahy, T. (2008).
Unsustainable food production:
Its social origins and alternatives. In J. Germov & L. Williams (Eds.), A Sociology of food and nutrition: The social appetite (3rd ed) (pp.
58-73). Victoria: Oxford University Press.
Nijkamp, P., & Vindigni, G. (2002). Food security and agricultural sustainability: An overview of critical success
factors. Environmental Management and Health, 13(5), 495-511.
Read, R., & Jones, G. (2002). The food supply. In M.L. Wahlqvist (Ed.), Australia and New Zealand
food & nutrition (2nd ed). Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin.
Singh, S. (2009).
Global food crisis: Magnitude, causes and policy measures. International
Journal of Social Economics, 36(1-2), 22-36.
No comments:
Post a Comment