US Soybean Farmers Can Help to Feed the World

Stewardship efforts undertaken by US soybean farmers offer the kind of efficiency and sustainability we need to see to meet the world's food needs. Soybean farmers are contributing to a sustainable food supply that improves the environment. To help feed growing world population US soybean farmers are trying to increase food production by 50% by 2030, without expanding the land mass used. Biotech breeding advances are allowing farmers to produce more and healthier soybeans with existing acreage.

There is Enough Water to Feed the World

To feed the world requires sufficient water for agriculture and according to recent research there is enough water in the world's rivers to meet the demands of the expanding global population. According to a series released at the 14th World Water Congress in Porto de Galinhas, Brazil. if we are to feed the world, our rivers will have to be better managed than they are today.

Population Growth and Global Food Production

There are currently almost 7 billion people in the world and by 2050 the world's population is expected to be around billion. With one billion people currently going hungry, it raises the question of how we can feed everyone. With slowing annual increases in agricultural yields food security is recognized as a major issue by the U.N. and the G20. Current methods of cultivating crops continue to degrade land, water, biodiversity, and climate.

Food Production and Climate Change

More frequent extreme weather events caused by climate change are expected to increase food price volatility. If we want to feed the world we need to pursue a course that includes environmental sustainability. Both mitigation and adaptation are required to address the impacts of climate change.Climate change is already having a major impact on agricultural yields. According to a paper published in journal Science and quoted in ENN, global wheat and corn output was reduced by more than 3 percent over the past three decades and these impacts translated into up to 20 percent higher average commodity prices. Higher prices lead to more starvation.

Food Production and UN Millennium Development Goals

Food crises are jeopardizing efforts to achieve the United Nations' millennium development goal of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. According to an annual report on world hunger, food price volatility is likely to continue and perhaps even increase, making poor farmers, consumers and countries more vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity.

Breaking the Cycle of Famine

The famines in East Africa and elsewhere make food a critical issue in 2011. Small, import-dependent countries, particularly in Africa, are especially at risk, with many of them still facing severe problems following the world food and economic crises of 2006-2008. Much of East Africa is in crisis and the current famine is not its first. In some places this is the worst drought in 60 years. The result is that 13 million people at now risk and 1.8 million people have been displaced in Somalis alone.

Blog Action Day 2011: Food

This year, Blog Action Day is on October 16, which coincides with World Food Day, so the 2011 theme is, quite naturally food. Since its inception in 2007, Blog Action Day themes have included water in 2010 and climate change in 2009. This year, in the short span of just two weeks approximately 1,500 bloggers from 80 countries registered to take part in Blog Action Day, 2011. Because of World Food Day, for Blog Action Day 2011, some bloggers are focusing on devastating famines, while others are addressing the abundance of food that is causing new health problems in the western world.

The F Word: Famine is the Real Obscenity

Bono, George Clooney, Jessica Alba, Idris Elba and more unite behind ONE's new campaign to help focus the world's attention again on the famine and food crisis in the Horn of Africa. Click here to find out more.

Related Posts
Population Growth and Global Food Production
Food Production and Climate Change
Breaking the Cycle of Famine
Food Production and UN Millennium Development Goals
Blog Action Day 2011: Food
There is Enough Water to Feed the World
US Soybean Farmers Can Help to Feed the World