The Challenge of Feeding the World

Abstract

The aim of the present research is to provide a comprehensive review about the current challenges related to food security and hidden hunger. Issues are presented according to major factors, such as growing population, changing dietary habits, water efficiency, climate change and volatile food prices. These factors were compiled from reports of major international organizations and from relevant scientific articles on the subject. Collecting the results and presenting them in an accessible manner may provide new insight for interested parties. Accessibility of data is extremely important, since food security and its drivers form a closely interconnected but extremely complex network, which requires coordinated problem solving to resolve issues. According to the results, the demand for growing agricultural products has been partly met by increasing cultivated land in recent decades. At the same time, there is serious competition for existing agricultural areas, which further limits the extension of agricultural land in addition to the natural constraints of land availability. Agricultural production needs to expand faster than population growth without further damage to the environment. The driving force behind development is sustainable intensive farming, which means the more effective utilization of agricultural land and water resources. Current global trends in food consumption are unsustainable, analyzed in terms of either public health, environmental impacts or socio-economic costs. The growing population should strive for sustainable food consumption, as social, environmental and health impacts are very important in this respect as well. To this end, the benefits of consuming foods that are less harmful to the environment during production are also to be emphasized in the scope of consumption policy and education related to nutrition as opposed to other food types, the production of which causes a major demand for raw materials.

Contribution of Irrigation Ponds to the Sustainability of Agriculture. A Review of Worldwide Research

“…Currently, water resources are suffering from a severe degradation process due to global climate change, demographic growth, the modification in the use of land, and overexploitation derived from economic development [88][89][90][91]. As a result, an increase in the competition for the available water will arise in the near future, which represents a threat to ensuring the resources necessary to guarantee the food supply [92,93]. In this context, the objective is sustainable development, defined as that which satisfies the needs of the current generation without compromising the capacity of future generations to satisfy theirs, considering the environmental, economic, and social dimensions [94].…”

A Simulator to Determine the Evolution of Disparities in Food Consumption between Socio-Economic Groups: A Brazilian Case Study

“…Therefore, beside the measures existing in the FNS, it is also important to tackle other contextual inequalities shown that this study has shown has a direct influence on food security, including gender disparities, income inequality, education, and regional differences. Furthermore, challenges such as a growing population, climate change, and pandemics [15,16,90], will continue to place pressure on socio-economic systems, ultimately affecting food security and hunger.…”

QTL Mapping for Domestication-Related Characteristics in Field Cress (Lepidium campestre)—A Novel Oil Crop for the Subarctic Region

“…The F 2 mapping population, their parents, and three additional genotypes were planted in 2.5 L plastic pots, under the same greenhouse conditions as above, in May 2015. Fresh leaf tissue was sampled from young seedlings individually and DNA was extracted, as described in Gustafsson et al [ 3 ]. The DNA samples of 380 individual plants, comprising 375 F 2 plants, two parents, and three additional genotypes (two field cress and one L. heterophyllum ) were sent to Cornell University for genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) at the Genomics Facility of the Biotechnology Resource Center [ 16 ].…”

“…The demand for plant-based oils is increasing as they play a crucial role in the bioeconomy by serving as a source of raw material for bioenergy, fuel production, and different types of industrial applications [ 1 , 2 ]. In addition, feeding a growing world population requires an increased vegetable oil production for food and feed, which makes oil crop production an important area of agricultural development [ 2 , 3 ].…”