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3 Responses to What needs to change in order for our food system to be sustainable?

1. What do you mean by sustainable? The correct definition is using management and cultural practices that permit continued productivity without degrading soil resources, which will eventually cause productivity to lessen regardless of how many nutrients are added. Sustainability IS possible using commercial fertilizers and synthetic pesticides.

   If you mean organic, that’s not the same as being sustainable. Improper application of organic fertilizers can cause water pollution, degradation of wetlands and coastal estuaries as well as well as health risks such as the recent e-coli caused human illnesses because of tainted lettuce, spinich, carrots, alfalfa sprouts and so on.

   If you mean what would be necessary for the world’s population to be able to survive without commercial fertilizers and pesticides, there could be no grain fed livestock, although animals grazing on natural forages would be ok. Meat would be much tougher and people would either need to get better teeth or pressure cook most meats. Consumers would need to be willing to accept vegetables and fruits that are wormy, moldy, have rotted areas, suffer external blemishes and be wilted, stale or shriveled due to moisture loss. And with the losses in yield and transit damage, about 3-4 billion people across the world would need to die or otehrwise disappear to prevent worldwide starvation. Some places such as North America, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and a fwe others would be ok, but countries like India, China, developed European countries, Russia and others would face mass starvation due to the fact that they can’t feed themselves at present without the importation of food from NA, Brazil, etc. With the reduced production of grains and fruits in present day exporting nations, there would be a lot of people in Europe starving.

   In addition, to offset reduced productivity, highly erodible or other sensitive lands that are presently in grass, wetlands, woodlands, etc would need to be tilled to produce food. Farming those lands would certainly not be “sustainable” and soil degredation would leave the soils infertile and eroded.

   

   bikinkawboy
   March 18, 2013 at 4:22 pm
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2. To have a more sustainable food production system, we must follow the following principles:

   1. Reduce use/dependency on unsustainable energy sources (such as coal, gas, and petrol)
   2. Reduce emissions of GHG (greenhouse gases) such as CO2, CH4, and NO2.
   3. Reduce unsustainable agriculture practices such as pollution and deforestation which can lead to increased health risks and loss of biodiversity

   Consequently, some agriculture practices that are considered more sustainable are such as
   – zero burning (as a way to clear a land without burning all the trees)
   – minimal or zero tillage (to maintain soil fertility so reducing fertilizer use as well as save fuel because tractors are less needed)
   – intercropping or crop rotation (to reduce pesticides use and to maximize light and water use by plants for higher yields)
   – integrated pest management (use of organisms to control our pests and diseases to reduce pesticide use)
   – use of composts or mulches (to provide nutrients so to reduce synthetic fertilizers)
   – urban agriculture (food is grown in urban areas to reduce “food miles”, so save fuel)
   – burying the N fertilizer instead on leaving it on the surface (to reduce NO2 emission)
   – timing the N fertilization so that plants are ready to take up the supplied N (again, reduce NO2 emission and N loss)
   – use of less water in rice fields (practised ala SRI or System Rice Intensification) means less CH4 emission (as well as conserving water) and yet giving higher rice yields. Over-withdrawal of water supply is a major problem in some countries like in India.

   As a final note, whenever we reduce transport fuel or agrochemical use, we reduce GHG emissions.

   It is a common misconception that use of sustainable agriculture practices automatically means lower crop yields and increased world hunger. It is also a common misconception that sustainable agriculture is synonymous with organic agriculture.

   Update:
   I forgot to mention that sustainable food production also means proper treatment to workers and farmers. One example of sustainable practice is giving a fair price to farmers for their produce. In other words, everyone wins (both seller and buyer).

   

   cbsteh
   March 18, 2013 at 4:48 pm
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3. My honest first answer that comes to mind is POPULATION.

   

   Hall of Skulls
   March 18, 2013 at 5:25 pm
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