World faces food shortages: UN report By NINA CHESTNEY, Reuters January 31, 2012 The world is running out of time to make sure there is enough food, water and energy to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population and to avoid sending up to three billion people into poverty, a UN report warned on Monday. As the world's population looks set to grow to nearly nine billion by 2040 from seven billion now, and the number of middle-class consumers increases by three billion over the next 20 years, the demand for resources will rise exponentially. Even by 2030, the world will need at least 50 per cent more food, 45 per cent more energy and 30 per cent more water, according to UN estimates, at a time when a changing environment is creating new limits to sup-ply. Efforts toward sustainable development are neither fast enough nor deep enough, as well as suffering from a lack of political will, the United Nations' high-level panel on global sustainability said. "The current global development model is un-sustainable. "To achieve sustainability, a transformation of the global economy is required," the report said. "Tinkering on the margins will not do the job. The cur-rent global economic crisis ... offers an opportunity for significant reforms." Although the number of people living in absolute poverty has been reduced to 27 per cent of world population from 46 per cent in 1990 and the global economy has grown 75 per cent since 1992, improved lifestyles and changing consumer habits have put natural resources under increasing strain. There are 20 million more undernourished people now than in 2000; 5.2 million hectares of forest are lost per year - an area the size of Costa Rica; 85 per cent of all fish stocks are over-exploited or depleted; and car-bon dioxide emissions have risen 38 per cent between 1990 and 2009, which heightens the risk of sea level rise and more extreme weather. The panel, which made 56 recommendations for sustainable development to be included in economic policy as quickly as possible, said a "new political economy" was needed. The report is available at un.org/gsp/ © Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/World+faces+food+shortages+report/6075572/story.html GMOs, anyone? You'd better believe it, otherwise the planet's population won't get fed.
Population estimates are just estimates... However, the majority of the population growth comes from poor countries that can't stop having babies. So... Just don't feed them... Next time there's a famine just ignore it. Nature taking its course.
Similarly, then, should you find yourself in mortal danger, let's hope that passers-by just let nature take its course.
That's fine by me... If you see me in mortal danger mind your business. Also, breeding like rabbits and then starving to death isn't the same as finding yourself in mortal danger from let's say a drunk driver. Just where the hell is everyone planning on going with this population growth? One can easily foresee a futre where we're all cannibals... Simply because all of the other species will be wiped out... We'll have a few grains that we grow to force-feed to a captive slave population... and then... we'll eat those people!!! :eek: That's basically our grim future if we subsidize the breeding of the unfit. Eventually, we'll end up eating them ourselves!
Children born to poverty and famine are innocent. You start. You can have your own tongue sandwich. All you need is two slices of bread and you're good to go.
Oh, I'm not accusing them of being guilty of anything... Circumstance is a mean bitch goddess...! Nevertheless, I'm not responsible for their survival. More importantly the more of them survive the less there will be for me... The fact that they're multiplying so much is a threat to our survival. As for having my own tongue sandwich think again...! I said cannibalism... Meaning eating members of one's own species. So... I'll be eating you! Tell me... Would you like to be deep fried or barbacued?
Right. So if you should have a road accident and your car ignites with you in it, passers-by ought to take the time to have a leisurely barbeque. Your treat.
Well on the bright side at least I'm not starving to death like an idiot. AND more importantly I can actually afford a car and I come from a society that has the intelligence and capability to build one. Oh yeah, and for the record... that's usually what most people do... Pulling somebody out of a burning car is really risky. You could end up barbecue yourself. I don't know why you keep bringing up these retarded arguments to frighten me into accepting your bullshit. I already said that I don't expect people to help me out. AND... Starving to death because you can't feed your 14 kids and having them starve as well isn't anything like a car accident.
Yes, I suppose someone like you would have to resort to taking pride in the accomplishments of others, to which you have contributed no part. Whatever gets you through the day.
Not true...! I've contributed plenty... What I don't get is why you have this strange need to interfere with other people's cultures...? To be quite fair starvation is really good for their society in the long run. They'll learn to live within their means and they will balance out their population growth to a sustainable level. It's western interference that screwed them up in the first place. Let them live freely within their means...