Food Security: Fossil Fuels

Abstract

The special section on Food Security (12 February, p. [797][1]) omitted two points. First, addressing the unmet need for voluntary, cost-effective family planning ([ 1 ][2]) deserves mention as a means for improving global food security in the coming decades. Second, any discussion of food security should address the dangerously heavy dependence of global agriculture on fossil fuels. Although several authors stressed the need for sustainability in agricultural systems, none even alluded to the virtual certainty that the peak of global oil production will occur before 2050. The rise in food prices in 2008 and the attendant civil unrest derived in part from the extreme rise in the costs of oil and of fertilizer. The potential for similar disruption in the future—possibly as soon as the global economy recovers—deserves serious consideration. 1. [↵][3] 1. S. Singh 2. et al ., Adding it Up: The Benefits of Investing in Sexual and Reproductive Health Care (Alan Guttmacher Institute, New York, 2003). [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.327.5967.797 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text