Future Food

THE UN projects that the global population will rise to more than 9.7 billion in 2050 and exceed 11.2 billion by 2100, which will call for a dramatic increase in food production. Sara Menker, founder and chief executive of Gro Intelligence, an agricultural data technology company says that the situation will be dire even earlier. At the recent TEDGlobal event Arusha, in Tanzania, (tedglobal2017.ted.com) Menker said that global food security was more tenuous than originally thought. “A tipping point in global food and agriculture could occur if surging demand for food surpasses our agricultural systems’ structural capacity. At that point, supply can no longer keep up with demand, despite exploding food prices. People may starve. Governments may fall.” Menker said that the tipping point could occur in as soon as a decade.

Her research reveals that by 2027 the world could be facing a 214 trillion calorie deficit which is the equivalent of 379 million Big Mac burgers.

Her solutions included: improving farming infrastructure, increasing farming yields exponentially, reforming and commercialising agricultural industries in Africa and India, changing how people buy and consume food and decreasing waste.