Problems with Agriculture Coincide with World Population Growth

The reasons for the current problems inherent in modern agriculture and the statement "We are feeding ourselves at the expense of our children" overlap. The reading entitled "Can the Growing Human Population Feed Itself" discusses the issues concerning agriculture and the impact of future food supply on people in years to come.

During the next half of the century demographers project that, the world's population will double from 5.3 billion people in 1990 to over 10 billion by the year 2050. This large amount of growth is definitely going to have an effect on agriculture. In order to feed the growing population, farmers must strengthen agricultural practices even though they cause ecological damage. It is said that our natural resources will collapse under the weight of future demand. Many economists and agricultural scientists (optimists) feel that the earth can produce more than enough food for the expected population of over 10 billion in 2050. Allegedly, technological innovation and investments in human capital will deliver high standards of living to a large portion of the globe, even if the population grows beyond 10 billion. A fear of the environmentalists is that the world food supply has reached an insecure state. There is concern that we are running short on land suitable for cultivation. This is a big problem for agriculture. Efforts to augment per capita food production by clearing land that is more fertile will find fewer options. Salt accumulation has led farmers to move away from irrigated land that has become unproductive. Environmentalists insist that soil erosion is destroying a lot of the land left to be cultivated. Unfortunately, 17% of the land supporting plant life worldwide has lost value over the past 45 years. This is due to erosion caused by wind, water, chemical and physical deterioration.

"We are feeding ourselves at the expense of our children." This phrase means that currently, people are producing, eating and disposing of food as if it can never run out, but it can and eventually if agriculture does not improve, we will slowly run out. Children of the future will not have the extent of food that people living today have.

If the environment continues the way it is, everyone will run into problems. Over the past 3 decades, massive efforts have been made to intensify agricultural output, where the total quantity of harvested crops has increased dramatically. The problem is that the number of undernourished people is still rising in most parts of the developing world, especially because population is rising extremely fast.

The question as to who is right in the debate over whether the growing population will be able to feed itself is not black and white. There are many good points and sensible arguments on both sides. In my opinion, one specific group is not right. Environmentalists insist that soil erosion is destroying much of the land left on earth. The degree of soil degradation has gone from light to severe. Irrigation systems make arid land cultivable and protect farmers from becoming vulnerable to variations in weather. Only a fraction of productive land in the developing world is now irrigated. Because irrigation systems are very expensive, the hope for extending them is shortened because of rising costs. Optimistic views concerning the environment and agriculture in the future believe that the world's food supply can be drastically expanded. They view the food situation of the world as having significantly improved in recent decades. The expansion of agriculture will be achieved by boosting crop yields and by using existing farmland more intensively. Also, bringing arable land into cultivation, which should be economical. To sustain a growing population with a diet that improves over the years is supposedly technologically feasible. Many poor countries however, cannot pay the economic and environmental costs that come with feeding everyone. It is up to the government to be able to design and enforce effective policies addressing these challenges (rising poverty, environmental degradation, increasing human numbers). If population rates do not reduce, the world will have serious problems.