Agriculture, society face challenges of feeding growing population

On Monday, I attended a presentation that examined trends in livestock production. I was struck by how rapidly the science of agriculture is advancing. I was also struck by the immense challenges we face when it comes to feeding the world.

Each year there are another 80 million people for farmers to feed, said Aidan Connolly, vice president of Alltech. Our global population is set to reach over nine billion by 2050, yet one billion people already go to bed hungry each night.

When it comes to ramping up production, the livestock industry has already made huge strides. For example, Connolly stated that each year chickens reach their slaughter weight a half day earlier. Yet clearly more needs to be done to ensure that we can feed the global population.

Alltech wants to help livestock producers meet the rising demand for protein. Researchers at Alltech are studying nutrigenomics, or how food affects genes. The end goal is to create healthier protein products.

Alltech hopes to do this by carefully managing the nutrition of young animals. Researchers have studied the effects of limiting the minerals that chicks receive earlier in life, then increasing the minerals to match normal levels. Contrary to common sense, limiting minerals for a brief time triggered the chicks’ genes to absorb minerals more efficiently later on. These chicks absorbed more calcium and phosphorous than the chicks whose minerals were not limited, Connolly noted.

Connolly explained that this process should create protein that is richer in anti-oxidants and therefore healthier for consumers. The final product will also be juicier, more consistent and tender, and tastier. It will have a longer shelf life, be produced with less strain on the environment, and not require growth-promoting antibiotics. And, said Connolly, Alltech aims to do all this without increasing the cost of production for livestock producers.

I am glad that companies and publically-funded organizations are taking up the kind of research that will help producers fill the growing demand for healthy food. Yet, I don’t know if it’s enough.

It seems to me that how food is distributed is a key part of the problem. A recent article in the Toronto Sun stated that every 40 seconds, a new case of diabetes is diagnosed in North America. While I realize that there are other causes of diabetes and obesity, I think that many of us are simply eating too much of the wrong food.

Food wastage is another issue, which I’ve been discussing with delegates at the International Federation of Agriculture Journalists (IFAJ) Congress. Monday night, while finishing supper at the Woolwich Arrow Neighbourhood Pub in Guelph, one of the delegates jokingly pointed out that I didn’t clean my plate (it was just too much food for me). I asked Bob Desautels, of the Woolwich Arrow, what happens to the wasted food in the pub, and he said that much of it is composted by the city. I felt a little less guilty about this particular supper, but the fact remains that I, along with many others, throw out too much food.

Ultimately, I don’t think there is an easy answer to the food production and distribution challenges we are facing. We need researchers to work on advances in agricultural production so that farmers can produce more food without depleting our water, soil, and other resources. This research needs to benefit people everywhere, so that those in developing countries can access enough healthy food. And finally, we would all benefit by resolving the problems with global food distribution.

Above photo of Bob Desautels courtesy of ZimmComm New Media