The truth about food availability isn’t just shocking. It’s downright terrifying.
Drive-thru restaurants cater to every preference known to man. Delivery services bring delicious delights at any hour of the day. And massive supermarkets display every option consumers could ever want.
But there are two significant problems lurking behind these normative routines. And quite frankly, they’re scary.
You see, those in the know say that food scarcity is the storm on the horizon. And it’s not just any storm -- it’s the perfect storm.
This may be incredibly hard to stomach, but some people swear it’s true. In fact, some experts say that in less than 40 years, the world will have a food shortage that will change life as we know it.
"For the first time in human history, food production will be limited on a global scale by the availability of land, water and energy," says Dr. Fred Davies, senior science advisor for the U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau of Food Security, in an article originally published in Texas A&M AgriLife Communications. "Food issues could become as politically destabilizing by 2050 as energy issues are today."
As a citizen of the land of dreams, that’s a thought too bizarre to comprehend. Really, how could this happen?
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.”
This has given rise to a term we all need to know. That term is "food deserts." Food deserts are exactly what they sound like -- vast areas with a shortage of fresh food. They are dry stretches of society, stripped of the necessities needed for a nutrient-rich diet.
Food deserts may conjure the image of sparsely populated areas, but that's not necessarily the case. Urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access to fresh, healthy and affordable food comprise these areas, according to the USDA. “Instead of supermarkets and grocery stores, these communities may have no food access or are served only by fast-food restaurants and convenience stores that offer few healthy, affordable food options.”
The USDA says that approximately 23.5 million people live in these areas. And more than half of these people are considered to be low-income. Further, 2.3 million of these people live in rural areas with a driving distance of more than 10 miles to a grocery store.
A number of health risks have been linked to food deserts, including obesity, diabetes and heart disease. This is because food deserts offer few fresh foods, making well-balanced nutrition nearly impossible.
From the start of a child's life, the health impact of food insecurity is apparent, manifesting in pregnancy complications, low birth weight, and a higher predisposition to chronic health conditions such as asthma and anemia. Children in food-insecure households suffer behavior and intellectual challenges as they grow.
And in retirement, food insecurity can become a problem as senior citizens live on fixed incomes and may be forced to choose between nutritious food and life-saving medications, some of which require a healthier diet to optimize their effects.
The answers to the problems associated with food deserts and food insecurity aren’t simple or quick. However, some areas are trying to solve the problem.
For example, Minneapolis established the Minneapolis Healthy Corner Store Program. The goal of this program is to give those in food deserts healthy, fresh options. It requires corner stores to stock five varieties of “perishable produce.” After all, corner stores are the only shopping option for many consumers in food deserts, who may have limited travel options.
Another solution comes in the form of community gardens, which are popping up in urban areas all over the United States. This gives residents of urban areas access to fresh foods. They also can learn gardening skills by working in the gardens on a regular basis. These practices may foster interest in creating gardens at home and creates more accessibility to fresh food.
Further, farmer “buy-in” programs are becoming popular. Consumers pay a low fee to belong to a program that provides a box of preselected fresh fruits and vegetables. Some areas are also trying to make it possible to use welfare allowances for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets.