Eating on an interconnected planet

Abstract

Calls to boost agricultural production in order to meet the demands of a growing global population are now commonplace. Yet, depending on where productivity changes and population growth occur, international trade could be increasingly necessary in the transfer of food from farms to consumers. Fader et al (2013) offer a nuanced view of this spatial disconnect and its food security implications by considering a valuable thought experiment: what countries could foreseeably meet their food requirements from internal production alone circa 2000 and for contrasting scenarios in 2050? They investigate the extent to which available renewable water and land resources constrain domestic per capita crop production, assuming current as well as broadly improved yields. The findings convey an intuitive, though often overlooked, point that population growth is likely to increase the reliance of certain regions on food imports unless substantial productivity improvements are realized.