The answer lies in the simple, yet complex concept of supply and demand. According to Davies, by the middle of the 21st century, the population of the world will grow by 30 percent. While 30 percent may seem like a mere statistic, it’s not. That’s 9 billion people needing food.

Even more concerning, Davies says that to meet this demand, food availability will need nearly to double. To be exact, it will need to increase by 70 percent.

“Resource limitations will constrain global food systems," Davies says. "The increases currently projected for crop production from biotechnology, genetics, agronomics and horticulture will not be sufficient to meet food demand."

So what’s the world supposed to do when such a scary statistic haunts the future? According to Davies, efficiency needs to increase to meet this demand.

"More efficient technologies and crops will need to be developed -- and equally important, better ways for applying these technologies locally for farmers -- to address this challenge,” Davies says. In addition, “a greater emphasis is needed in high-value horticultural crops.”

Food Insecurity

Though it’s easy to dismiss, the U.S. already faces great poverty. According to Feeding America, 46.7 million – nearly 15 percent of -- Americans live in poverty, and 15.5 million of them are children.

As if this isn’t scary enough, there’s another problem in the mix. This is a current, ongoing issue that many of us only think about occasionally.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), “An estimated 14.0 percent of American households were food insecure at least some time during the year in 2014, meaning they lacked access to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members.”