How can we feed the world?
In a recent Schweiz am Wochenende edition, WFSC Chair Prof. Nina Buchmann responded to the reader question: How can we feed the future population of 9 to 10 billion people without further impacting our climate?
By 2050 the population will swell to about 9.7 billion people, and Schweiz am Wochenende (29 April 2017) reports that 60% more food will be necessary by the beginning of next century. Those who earn enough money will demand a varied diet, eating more meat, fish, eggs, and milk products.
In the article, Prof. Buchmann comments that to create a sustainable food system, we must optimize the entire food value chain and involve all stakeholders in the process, including farmers, distributors, sellers, and consumers. Food is wasted if the farmer does not have access to market or consumers throw it away; 30-40% of produced food is wasted worldwide.
The complexity of the food system is immense, says Buchmann; therefore, the World Food System Center looks at various ways to sustainably feed the world. Buchmann also comments that diversity in our agroecosystems must be considered.
Read the entire Schweiz am Wochenende article Downloadhere (PDF, 364 KB) (in German).