We need less food, not more

Vaclav Smil

Vaclav Smil, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, spoke at the Jan. 22 Visionary Conversations, Who Gets Fed First.

A tease of what he argued at the event:

Global population is not booming as the decline in fertilities continues to spread. All affluent countries have an obscene oversupply of food that leads to both rising obesity and excessive food waste: they need less food, not more. Many modernizing countries (including China and Brazil) have more than adequate supply of food but continued problems with access due to rising inequalities. The world’s poorest populous countries, particularly in Africa, need to increase food production but in most of them (including such potentially large food exporters as Nigeria and Sudan) this cannot be done without first ending tribal and religious conflicts.