The world is closer to a food crisis than most people realise - Polidicks

[QUOTE=Cows Rule;36936176]I've been aware of the possibility, in Civ 5 if you play long enough, population's become difficult to feed, my answer was to let them starve until the population and food production's equalized. I should look back at that file.[/QUOTE] 1) This isn't Civ 5, this is real life, and it's a very serious situation. As much as I love the Civ series, I think it's time people start realizing exactly how dangerous things are becoming. 2) You can't do that to real people, at least not in the United States. Human beings tend to lose their moral compass when starving, you know? Especially those who own firearms. 3) There isn't going to be much food production unless they're produced in artificial environments, e.g. hydroponics, and those systems aren't going to be in place fast enough. And we simply can't afford to put one in every community.

Maybe if our country wasn't so dependent on one freaking crop or if the public wasn't so against genetically engineered crops we would be in a better situation.

[QUOTE=MR-X;36936272]Maybe if our country wasn't so dependent on one freaking crop or if the public wasn't so against genetically engineered crops we would be in a better situation.[/QUOTE] Not really. As far as I know, most crops--genetically engineered or no--can't grow without water, especially in sweltering heat.

I'll save everyone with my latest and greatest invention.... Soylent Green. There's only one condition, just don't ask what's in it and we won't have a problem.

Time for science to produce a breakthrough.

Organ farms. Eat organs. Problem solved.

[QUOTE=Jackald;36934162]lol [img]http://media.economist.com/images/na/2009w50/Teeth2.jpg[/img] [url]http://www.economist.com/node/15060097?subjectid=7933596&story_id=15060097[/url][/QUOTE] This survey was probably taken at the dentist, the exact place they don't go.

[QUOTE=NoDachi;36932819]Never before have so many people had such a surplus of food.[/QUOTE] Yeah, that's a benefit, but still it sucks that less fortunate people find themselves without food; though isn't the food situation in Africa based around corrupt governments? The tropical climates seem reasonably "fruitful", and in theory irrigation would be a help to the drier regions of the continent.

[QUOTE=ironman17;36932735]Welp, if harvesting is getting harder due to weather, I have one word; biodomes. Build farms in controlled environments with adjustable day-night and weather cycles, so you don't have to depend on natural weather, and you could produce crops all year round. In regards to meat, pour more money into researching cheap and tasty vat-grown meat.[/QUOTE] The whole problem with this is everyone is too stubborn to spend their money on an idea that's not guaranteed to make them even more money.

[QUOTE=Naaz;36936820]Organ farms. Eat organs. Problem solved.[/QUOTE] You need a feedstock to grow the organs in.

normally I would say this is way sensationalist, but the last few years in Virginia here, our corn harvests have been shit. We usually have humid, mild summers with a lot of rain, meaning big hauls for farmers. Last three seasons or so, they've been barely scraping by due to drought and heat waves. They won't last much longer; crop insurance only goes so far.

Reminds me of the Dust Bowl, and what do you know, THAT happened during an economic crisis too. What a coincidence!

And yet the United States produces so much food and wastes so much. Working in a grocery store, I'm bombarded by so much food every day. And the majority of it never gets sold. We overstock so much that I'd say over half of it never gets sold but instead sent back to the company who we bought it from or thrown out. This is also one reason why the price of food is higher now than it was back 40 years ago for the same product- to compensate for as much as is tossed out, everything costs a bit more. And that's part of the strategy, I think, is to just overproduce. We have lots of food and we can charge lots of money for it. We have so much food, and yet we have starving people in first world nations. We have starving people across the world, and yet the United States is pumping out enough corn to give every single person in the world 10 pieces of corn each year (that's assuming that each acre of corn yields 120 bushels of corn on our corn yield for the year 2000). It's fucking amazing that we can produce so much shit and transport it across the country just to be thrown out, yet people starve. And you know what? It wouldn't surprise me if it all came to an end because of low corn output. We put that shit in EVERYTHING. It's in sodas, it's in twinkies, it's in fucking everything. We feed all of our livestock with it. Here in Michigan we lost the entirety of our cherry crop and a good chunk of our corn and sugar beat crop because of a hot, early spring and then re-freezing.

[QUOTE=FPChris;36933825]India and other countries really should follow China's example of 1 baby per family.[/QUOTE] While this solves population problems, it creates economic problems. The dependency ratio in china is getting really bad. You have on average one worker supporting 6 dependents/non-workers. It also creates a lack of jobs. Because of the lower amount of young workers, some places have to close down. So while 1 baby per family sounds like a good idea, it solves one problem and creates problems.

one baby per family is a good way to slow down population growth but isn't something you should leave in effect for more than 5-10 years

[QUOTE=ButtsexV3;36939083]one baby per family is a good way to slow down population growth but isn't something you should leave in effect for more than 5-10 years[/QUOTE] Then after that, maybe 2 babies per family to keep the population stable at least. It also doesn't help that many Chinese parents are "throwing out" daughters due to their cultural beliefs. There are more boys than girls because if it's a girl, parents put her up for adoption or perform pre-birth or post-birth abortions.

Sensationalist article by someone about to publish a book. Feels more like advertising.

[QUOTE=FPChris;36933795]Time to start eating insects. As disgusting as I think it sounds, I still have no idea why we aren't.[/QUOTE] You kidding? First place off the top of my head - China, Market streets: full of edible wonders of all and every kind, including lovely 2-inch flies coated in oil and sauce (looked like it was still twitching btw), 4-inch crickets, octopus tentacles, whatever you can think of. And that's just China. I'm pretty sure a lot more people than you think eat or use bugs in foods. There are tribes in many places - Australia, Africa, India - who lick (weaver) ant butts because they excrete a sour-sweet liquid. There's your dessert.

Want to solve population problem? Release a deadly incurable virus while trying to build a star ship that can enable humans to build a moon base.

[QUOTE=BCell;36940012]Want to solve population problem? Release a deadly incurable virus while trying to build a star ship that can enable humans to build a moon base.[/QUOTE] The Nazis claimed the moon but didn't release a virus. :v:

[QUOTE=KingdomBanned;36933770]It's time for population control.[/QUOTE] Or globalization and proper food redistribution system.

[QUOTE=Zet;36936406]I'll save everyone with my latest and greatest invention.... Soylent Green. There's only one condition, just don't ask what's in it and we won't have a problem.[/QUOTE] I too have a modest proposal in mind.

[QUOTE=Gnomical;36939101]Then after that, maybe 2 babies per family to keep the population stable at least. It also doesn't help that many Chinese parents are "throwing out" daughters due to their cultural beliefs. There are more boys than girls because if it's a girl, parents put her up for adoption or perform pre-birth or post-birth abortions.[/QUOTE] TBH, as harsh as it really is you can't blame them (so much). I've read articles about how families that had a daughter and it breaks them because of the economic strain that society mandates the family of a daughter should do. Things like paying the wedding dowry, etc. There is quite a bit though. Not to mention that men still make more money than women in China, moreso than in the U.S. Still, its a damn shame, and you are right in that it is a cultural social thing, but not for the reason you'd think.

"the world" emm just america

[QUOTE=FPChris;36933795]Time to start eating insects. As disgusting as I think it sounds, I still have no idea why we aren't.[/QUOTE] The thing is, eating incects can make you violently ill. Before you call bullshit, i had a conversation with a Thai hooker about it, (No, i was not hiring her, i was in a bar and she came over to practice her english.) she told us that the east Thai's have iron bellies, people from central Thailand and from western countries are much softer, people tend to become violently ill when they eat fried crickets. They are nice, i've had some, but she told us how she ate a bag and ended up going to the hospital, the doctor told her that it's a regular occurence with tourists, but not so often with thai's. Interesting, hunh?

I know over here in the UK we store food in warehouses and let it decay/rot because if you put it on the market it reduces the demand and therefore farmers somehow make less money.

Svaaallbaaarddd.

The comeback of SPAM [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwy2MPT5RE[/media] In the near future

I blame John Goodman! :eng101:

[QUOTE=TehDoctorz;36936033]I don't know why you got 3 dumbs. You are totally spot on, if lacking a little bit of info.[/QUOTE] birthrate isn't the only thing to take into consideration. as those countries get better healthcare people start living longer and infant mortality rates go down.