Global Food Production essays

Global Food Production essays The present world population exceeds 6 billion people. Incredibly, of those 6 billion about half suffer from malnourishment. In the past, people viewed malnutrition as a problem of hunger and famine amongst poor countries. However, the definition of malnourishment has broadened to include a deficiency in a persons intake of nutrients and other dietary elements to live a healthy life, as well as an excess in the intake of nutrients. For the first time in history the number of people that are over-consuming food rivals the number of people that arent eating enough. Over-consumption is a problem of industrialized countries with the United States leading the way. Also, there are profound misconceptions about malnutrition. For example, there is often enough food to go around in countries like Africa where hunger is severe. Also, in U.S., the wealthiest nation in all of history, hunger still persists. The biggest misconception of all is that global hunger is a result of scarcity of food. For more than 40 years the world has produced regular and often bountiful food surpluses. So why then does malnutrition affect half of the worlds population? Delving into this problem we find that malnutrition is only the tip of the iceberg to a much more intricate global problem. As we analyze the problems of worldwide malnutrition we find it is interconnected to global food production systems, land and water degradation, poverty, and the political-economy of globalization. We find that malnutrition is only the face to a whole body of problems. It is the first visible symptom of our present day food production system. It directly affects populations which we easily identify with. Looking beyond the immediate effects of malnutrition, we find connections to the degradation of the environment on a global scale. Malnutrition leads to another problem, and another to another, and so on and so forth. As our perspective widen...