Agriculture Climate Change And Food Security In The 21st Century

With the global adoption of the “green revolution” in the 1970s; the long historical legacy of agriculture’s boom and bust cycle seemed – finally – to be put on hold. It appeared as though the apocalyptic nightmare of famine had been vanquished. However, now, man-made climate change poses a new and immediate crisis – from Syria to South Sudan – how do we feed the 10 billion people likely to inhabit the planet by 2050? How do we continue to feed, sustainably, the 7.5 billion of us that are already here? How do we do so in a climate that is becoming increasing hostile to food security? This book explores the history of agriculture, and the threat that climate change imposes for all aspects of our “daily bread”. While these challenges are severe and significant, it argues that we are not without hope, and offers a wide range of solutions, from polyculture farming to feminism that can, when applied, lead to a better future for humankind.

This book looks at the current state of food security and climate change, discusses the issues that are affecting them, and the actions required to ensure there will be enough food for the future. By casting a much wider net than most previously published books—to include select novel approaches, techniques, genes from crop diverse genetic resources or relatives—it shows how agriculture may still be able to triumph over the very real threat of climate change. Food Security and Climate Change integrates various challenges posed by changing climate, increasing population, sustainability in crop productivity, demand for food grains to sustain food security, and the anticipated future need for nutritious quality foods. It looks at individual factors resulting from climate change, including rising carbon emission levels, increasing temperature, disruptions in rainfall patterns, drought, and their combined impact on planting environments, crop adaptation, production, and management. The role of plant genetic resources, breeding technologies of crops, biotechnologies, and integrated farm management and agronomic good practices are included, and demonstrate the significance of food grain production in achieving food security during climate change. Food Security and Climate Change is an excellent book for researchers, scientists, students, and policy makers involved in agricultural science and technology, as well as those concerned with the effects of climate change on our environment and the food industry.

With the global adoption of the green revolution in the 1970s; the long historical legacy of agricultures boom and bust cycle seemedfinallyto be put on hold. It appeared as though the apocalyptic nightmare of famine had been vanquished. However, now, man-made climate change poses a new and immediate crisisfrom Syria to South Sudanhow do we feed the 10 billion people likely to inhabit the plant by 2050? How do we continue to feed, sustainably, the 7.5 billion of us that are already here? How do we do so in a climate that is becoming increasing hostile to food security? This book explores the history of agriculture, and the threat that climate change imposes for all aspects of our daily bread. While these challenges are severe and significant, it argues that we are not without hope, and offers a wide range of solutions, from polyculture farming to feminism that can, when applied, lead to a better future for humankind.

Human-kind and ecological systems are currently facing one of the toughest challenges: how to feed more billions of people in the future within the perspective of climate change, energy shortages, economic crises and growing competition for the use of renewable and non renewable resources. This challenge is even more crucial given that we have not yet come close to achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty and hunger. Scientists and relevant stakeholders are now voicing a clear message: that multiple challenges the world is facing require innovative, multifaceted, science-based, technological, economic and political approaches in theoretical thinking, decision making and action. With this background central to survival and well-being, the purpose of this volume is to formulate and promote relevant theoretical analysis and policy recommendations. The major perspective of this publication is that paradigm and policy shifts at all levels are needed urgently. This is based on the evidence that agriculture in the 21st century will be undergoing significant demands, arising largely from the need to increase the global food enterprise, while adjusting and contributing to climate change adaptation and mitigation. Global Food Insecurity aims at providing structure to effect achievement of this critically needed roadmap.

FAO in the 21st Century: Ensuring Food Security in a Changing World details the current knowledge of complex and interrelated challenges that are compounding efforts to achieve global food security. It discusses likely implications for the food and agriculture sector and for hunger and poverty reduction efforts, including FAO's role in assisting members in the coming years. This book is for everyone interested in better understanding the dynamics of the current global issues and changing patterns in agriculture and natural resources.

Global environmental change (GEC) represents an immediate and unprecedented threat to the food security of hundreds of millions of people, especially those who depend on small-scale agriculture for their livelihoods. As this book shows, at the same time, agriculture and related activities also contribute to GEC by, for example, intensifying greenhouse gas emissions and altering the land surface. Responses aimed at adapting to GEC may have negative consequences for food security, just as measures taken to increase food security may exacerbate GEC. The authors show that this complex and dynamic relationship between GEC and food security is also influenced by additional factors; food systems are heavily influenced by socioeconomic conditions, which in turn are affected by multiple processes such as macro-level economic policies, political conflicts and other important drivers. The book provides a major, accessible synthesis of the current state of knowledge and thinking on the relationships between GEC and food security. Most other books addressing the subject concentrate on the links between climate change and agricultural production, and do not extend to an analysis of the wider food system which underpins food security; this book addresses the broader issues, based on a novel food system concept and stressing the need for actions at a regional, rather than just an international or local, level. It reviews new thinking which has emerged over the last decade, analyses research methods for stakeholder engagement and for undertaking studies at the regional level, and looks forward by reviewing a number of emerging 'hot topics' in the food security-GEC debate which help set new agendas for the research community at large. Published with Earth System Science Partnership, GECAFS and SCOPE

Throughout history, human societies have struggled to ensure that all people have access to sufficient food to lead active and healthy lives. Despite great global effort, events of the early 21st century clearly demonstrate that food remains a pressing challenge which has significant implications for security. In this book, Bryan McDonald explores how processes of globalization and global change have reshaped food systems in ways that have significant impacts for the national security of states and the human of communities and individuals. Over the past few decades, local, regional, and national food systems have increasingly become intertwined in an emerging global food network. This complex web of relations includes the production, harvest, processing, transport, and consumption of food. While this global food network provides new opportunities for improving health and well-being, it also gives rise to new sources of security threats and vulnerabilities. This detailed and comprehensive introduction to the major issues impacting global food security will be essential reading for students and scholars in security studies, international politics, and environmental studies.

This volume discusses a broad range of vital issues encompassing the production and consumption of food in the current period of climate change. All of these add up to looming, momentous challenges to food security, especially for people in regions where malnutrition and famine have been the norm during numerous decades. Furthermore, threats to food security do not stop at the borders of more affluent countries – governance of food systems and changes in eating patterns will have worldwide consequences. The book is arranged in four broad sections. Part I, Combating Food Insecurity: A Global Responsibility opens with a chapter describing the urgent necessity for new paradigm and policy set to meet the food security challenges of climate change. Also in this section are chapters on meat and the dimensions of animal welfare, climate change and sustainability; on dietary options for mitigating climate change; and the linkage of forest and food production in the context of the REDD+ approach to valuation of forests. Part II, Managing Linkages Between Climate Change and Food Security offers a South Asian perspective on Gender, Climate Change and Household Food Security; a chapter on food crisis in sub-Saharan Africa; and separate chapters on critical issues of food supply and production in Nigeria, far-Western Nepal and the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Cameroon. Part III examines Food Security and patterns of production and consumption, with chapters focused on Morocco, Thailand, Bahrain, Kenya and elsewhere. The final section discusses successful, innovative practices, with chapters on Food Security in Knowledge-Based Economy; Biosaline Agriculture in the Gulf States; Rice production in a cotton zone of Benin; palm oil in the production of biofuel; and experiments in raised-bed wheat production. The editors argue that technical prescriptions are insufficient to manage the food security challenge. They propose and explain a holistic approach for adapting food systems to global environmental change, which demands the engagement of many disciplines – a new, sustainable food security paradigm.