3 ms·

Don't we pretty much already have a massive oversupply of calories?

• gravelc 10y ago
  In a perfect world where food distribution isn't affected by things like spoilage, lack of transport infrastructure, politics, trade barriers, diversion of food crops to biofuels, monopolies, war etc. etc., we may have an oversupply. In reality, it's not even close, given that yield increases in staple crops like wheat are beginning to flat-line, and population growth marches ever onwards (and millions are lifted out of poverty to the middle class). The Green Revolution was through picking all the low-hanging fruit - hybrid crops and synthetic fertilizers. Increasing yield to match demand is already looking like an issue without the effect of catastrophic climate change. Other issues occurring in the next 20-30 years include encroachment of cities into prime arable land, land degradation, and increased cost/reduced availability of phosphorous fertilizers. It's a massive issue that barely registers on the public conscience, and we may hit the perfect storm soon, particularly if a new nasty rust or plant virus pops up on the scene at the same time.