When too much isn't enough: Does current food production meet global nutritional needs?

Autor: Kc KB; Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., Dias GM; School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada., Veeramani A; School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada., Swanton CJ; Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., Fraser D; Faculty of Land and Food Systems, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada., Steinke D; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., Lee E; Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., Wittman H; Centre for Sustainable Food System, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada., Farber JM; Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., Dunfield K; School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., McCann K; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., Anand M; School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., Campbell M; Office of Research, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., Rooney N; School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., Raine NE; School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., Acker RV; Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., Hanner R; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., Pascoal S; Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., Sharif S; Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada., Benton TG; School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom., Fraser EDG; Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.; Arrell Food Institute, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2018 Oct 23; Vol. 13 (10), pp. e0205683. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Oct 23 (Print Publication: 2018).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205683
Abstrakt: Sustainably feeding the next generation is often described as one of the most pressing "grand challenges" facing the 21st century. Generally, scholars propose addressing this problem by increasing agricultural production, investing in technology to boost yields, changing diets, or reducing food waste. In this paper, we explore whether global food production is nutritionally balanced by comparing the diet that nutritionists recommend versus global agricultural production statistics. Results show that the global agricultural system currently overproduces grains, fats, and sugars while production of fruits and vegetables and protein is not sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the current population. Correcting this imbalance could reduce the amount of arable land used by agriculture by 51 million ha globally but would increase total land used for agriculture by 407 million ha and increase greenhouse gas emissions. For a growing population, our calculations suggest that the only way to eat a nutritionally balanced diet, save land and reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to consume and produce more fruits and vegetables as well as transition to diets higher in plant-based protein. Such a move will help protect habitats and help meet the Sustainable Development Goals.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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