Increased Food Production by 2050 Needed

World will need 70 per cent more food in 2050: FAO
Hindustantimes.com
9/23/09

World food production must increase by 70 per cent by 2050, to nourish a human population then likely to be 9.1 billion, the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation forecast on Wednesday.

"FAO is cautiously optimistic about the world's potential to feed itself by 2050," said FAO Assistant Director-General Hafez Ghanem. However, he stressed that feeding everyone in the world by then "will not be automatic and several significant challenges have to be met."

The agency is preparing for a high-level expert forum in Rome on October 12-13 on "How to Feed the World in 2050" and plans to gather 300 specialists from academic, non-governmental and private sector institutions.

The world population is expected to grow from 6.8 billion today to 9.1 billion in 2050, according to the latest UN forecast. Read More

We either have or will have the technology and the ability to continue feeding everyone on this planet. The real question that will need to be answered is whether or not our society will allow our farmers and ranchers to do it. The questions will be a simple one, either we utilize modern food production techniques in crop and livestock production, or we will decide that some people will go hungry. That is the choice that will need to be made.