With global population touching the seven billion mark, concerns have been voiced about an impending food shortage. Developed countries, which consume the most, have been quick to place the blame on the growing population of developing countries. They forget that the world produces adequate food for all. Sadly, much of that food is wasted
A few days back the world population touched the seven billion mark. No wonder the debate has gained momentum about how this growing population would put unprecedented pressure on already scarce resources. The riots over food (in Egypt), water crisis and deaths due to curable diseases in developing countries have raised concerns over the population explosion. With the seven billionth living child hailing from a country like India (and some other nations, symbolically chosen by the UN), the blame of populating the world and causing the global crisis is being shifted back to the developing nations and citizens of the Third World.
But then, the moot question remains — is the earth really not ready for 7 billion people and is nature really stretched for generating resources for all? Are the citizens of developing nations consuming more and is the population expansion in these countries the real reason behind the growing resource crunch?
Last year in August, US President Barack Obama blamed India and China for the global hike in food prices and commented, “As you see, more and more demand is placed on our food supplies around the world; as folks in China and folks in India start wanting to eat more meat and commodity prices start going up...” In 2008, a Wall Street Journal article concluded how human population growth will be limited with “the rising consumption trends of large developing nations such as China and India.” On hindsight, the answers to the questions I asked one paragraph above are — as often touted by heads of developed states — yes. But then, the analysis reveals a completely different picture.
The stark truth is that the total food grain consumption of an average American is more than five times that of an Indian (per capita Indian consumption of food grain is 178kg per year, while it is 1,046kg for an American). This was revealed by the US Department of Agriculture in 2007. According to the same source, an American’s rain consumption per capita per day is thrice as much as an average Chinese person. According to WHO, the per capita per day grain consumption figure for developing countries was a measly 2681 kcal in 1997-99; estimated to be slightly better in 2015 at 2850 kcal — while the developed countries were way ahead with 3380 kcal as far back as in 1997-99, a figure that’s expected to be 3440 kcal in 2015.
The most repugnant situation is in sub-Saharan Africa which has a per capita food consumption as low as 2195 kcal; South Asia has a slightly better figure of 2403 kcal per capita per day. With a per capita per year food grain consumption of only 162 kg, Africa is the land of the hungry and destitute, and a showcase for the world to see the plight of the hungry in harsh contrast to the luxury of the developed world.
The entire hypothesis becomes more transparent with the fact that the entire shortage and hue and cry over the food crisis is a gift of the West. Researches by Stockholm Inter-national and the Food and Agriculture Organisation show that the world is not facing any food crisis; but in reality, the food crisis is due to wastage of food.
The total food produced across the world is enough to feed the world comfortably. A 2002 report by FAO substantiates the above hypothesis by stating that across the globe, “agriculture produces 17 per cent more calories per person today than it did 30 years ago, which is enough to provide everyone in the world with at least 2,720 kilocalories (kcal) per person per day...”
A Stockholm International report also states that the US alone wastes around 30 per cent of food and water that can fulfil the needs of around 500 million people — or shall I say, a figure equal to the population of a country like Singapore or two Botswanas or four Swazilands for that matter. As per the latest study conducted by the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology, the total food wasted by consumers in developed nations is equal to the entire food produced in sub-Saharan Africa.
For the uninitiated, around 239 million people sleep hungry every night in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is not all.
Europe annually wastes around 280 kg of food per person while the figure reaches 295 kg per person in North America. In contrast to this, Sub-Saharan Africa (in spite of being more populated) wastes 160 kg food per capita per year — less than half of what is wasted by an average American. The UK alone wastes 6.7 million tonnes of food per year. Per capita food produced in developed nations is around 900 kg a year while that in poor nations is just around 450 kg a year. This is the very reason why today, the number of overweight and obese people outnumbers that of malnourished.
The average household size may have decreased in developed countries like US or UK, but ironically the average consumption has increased. Thus, a smaller household in a developed country consumes more than a larger household in a developing country. This happens owing to the fact that each household, with all basic consumer items like televisions, energy, oil, refrigerators, cars and others finds lesser users in a smaller family — and therefore the total cost of these items is divided between lesser number of family members, thus increasing the average cost.
A survey by International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in the US found that “single member households spent an average of $774 on residential energy, while the increase for each additional person above two in the household was only $120 to $160.”
Source: The Pioneer
A few days back the world population touched the seven billion mark. No wonder the debate has gained momentum about how this growing population would put unprecedented pressure on already scarce resources. The riots over food (in Egypt), water crisis and deaths due to curable diseases in developing countries have raised concerns over the population explosion. With the seven billionth living child hailing from a country like India (and some other nations, symbolically chosen by the UN), the blame of populating the world and causing the global crisis is being shifted back to the developing nations and citizens of the Third World.
But then, the moot question remains — is the earth really not ready for 7 billion people and is nature really stretched for generating resources for all? Are the citizens of developing nations consuming more and is the population expansion in these countries the real reason behind the growing resource crunch?
Last year in August, US President Barack Obama blamed India and China for the global hike in food prices and commented, “As you see, more and more demand is placed on our food supplies around the world; as folks in China and folks in India start wanting to eat more meat and commodity prices start going up...” In 2008, a Wall Street Journal article concluded how human population growth will be limited with “the rising consumption trends of large developing nations such as China and India.” On hindsight, the answers to the questions I asked one paragraph above are — as often touted by heads of developed states — yes. But then, the analysis reveals a completely different picture.
The stark truth is that the total food grain consumption of an average American is more than five times that of an Indian (per capita Indian consumption of food grain is 178kg per year, while it is 1,046kg for an American). This was revealed by the US Department of Agriculture in 2007. According to the same source, an American’s rain consumption per capita per day is thrice as much as an average Chinese person. According to WHO, the per capita per day grain consumption figure for developing countries was a measly 2681 kcal in 1997-99; estimated to be slightly better in 2015 at 2850 kcal — while the developed countries were way ahead with 3380 kcal as far back as in 1997-99, a figure that’s expected to be 3440 kcal in 2015.
The most repugnant situation is in sub-Saharan Africa which has a per capita food consumption as low as 2195 kcal; South Asia has a slightly better figure of 2403 kcal per capita per day. With a per capita per year food grain consumption of only 162 kg, Africa is the land of the hungry and destitute, and a showcase for the world to see the plight of the hungry in harsh contrast to the luxury of the developed world.
The entire hypothesis becomes more transparent with the fact that the entire shortage and hue and cry over the food crisis is a gift of the West. Researches by Stockholm Inter-national and the Food and Agriculture Organisation show that the world is not facing any food crisis; but in reality, the food crisis is due to wastage of food.
The total food produced across the world is enough to feed the world comfortably. A 2002 report by FAO substantiates the above hypothesis by stating that across the globe, “agriculture produces 17 per cent more calories per person today than it did 30 years ago, which is enough to provide everyone in the world with at least 2,720 kilocalories (kcal) per person per day...”
A Stockholm International report also states that the US alone wastes around 30 per cent of food and water that can fulfil the needs of around 500 million people — or shall I say, a figure equal to the population of a country like Singapore or two Botswanas or four Swazilands for that matter. As per the latest study conducted by the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology, the total food wasted by consumers in developed nations is equal to the entire food produced in sub-Saharan Africa.
For the uninitiated, around 239 million people sleep hungry every night in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is not all.
Europe annually wastes around 280 kg of food per person while the figure reaches 295 kg per person in North America. In contrast to this, Sub-Saharan Africa (in spite of being more populated) wastes 160 kg food per capita per year — less than half of what is wasted by an average American. The UK alone wastes 6.7 million tonnes of food per year. Per capita food produced in developed nations is around 900 kg a year while that in poor nations is just around 450 kg a year. This is the very reason why today, the number of overweight and obese people outnumbers that of malnourished.
The average household size may have decreased in developed countries like US or UK, but ironically the average consumption has increased. Thus, a smaller household in a developed country consumes more than a larger household in a developing country. This happens owing to the fact that each household, with all basic consumer items like televisions, energy, oil, refrigerators, cars and others finds lesser users in a smaller family — and therefore the total cost of these items is divided between lesser number of family members, thus increasing the average cost.
A survey by International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in the US found that “single member households spent an average of $774 on residential energy, while the increase for each additional person above two in the household was only $120 to $160.”
Source: The Pioneer
