Humans keep increasing what will happen?

[bombie1]

Despite the use of various contraceptives, the world population keeps ballooning. Will there come a time that all food will be extinct and we cannot feed ourselves or what is the way forward because we are tilling all the virgin lands etc .

[MiningDog]

According to the UN, the total fertility rate in the world has been going down constantly since the 1950s (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate). This means that people are having less and less kids. The total fertility rate for 2010-2015 was 2.36. If I understand correctly, when the fertility rate is at 2.0, this means the population no longer grows, since there are usually about 1 man for each woman. If each woman has two children the population stays about the same. In some countries these numbers are much higher, but even there the numbers are going down. In many countries, populations have negative growth due to this. I don't think the world population will continue to "balloon". Food is not going extinct.

[Dawson_V]

Thinking that the use of various contraceptives will help decrease, the world population is puerile. Another thought is about food. People often think that it might come a time when all food will be extinct and we cannot feed ourselves properly. Again, it is not true. Yes, climate change is an issue. Lands are disappearing and the sea is gaining more territories. We have to cope with this issue for sure. However, the world population has nothing to do with this. Actually, the population is quite stable and fix.  Banks and newspapers love to frighten people. It helps them to make, more money. For that reason, they bring such topics. No ladies! The world population is ok.

[KingScorpio]

we' will have to build an urban planetary civilisation

[seoincorporation]

Global population is not going down, is stabilizing, but we are too many already.



The issue is that we, as animals, have had unnatural survival behaviour, so the world population grew exponentially from 4 billion in 1974 to 7.5 billion in 2018, almost a duplicated number:



So yes, it is an issue, though. If any other animal had this kind of behaviour, humans will, for sure implement a reproduction control in order to stop the (hypothetical) animal to become a plague.
So, in fact, and given the reproduction behaviour, humankind can be considered as one.

Yes, education can be absolutely something of value in stopping this incredible and crazy increment. But the humans have already altered the earth so much that is starting to be considered at this particular time as a new geological era: Anthropocene.

[Squishy01]

In only less than a century, human population has exponentially skyrocketed and the world population today is about to reach 8 billion. If population growth is not controlled properly, then someday we will have to take drastic measures to make do with the limited resources the Earth has. We can find another planet, but I don't see that happening in a thousand years at least.

[TheBiochemist]

Despite the use of various contraceptives, the world population keeps ballooning. Will there come a time that all food will be extinct and we cannot feed ourselves or what is the way forward because we are tilling all the virgin lands etc .

It of course depends on many factors, climate and our behavior mostly, the later of which we can control. Producing meat as a source of food is moronic, we make soils go depleted 15 times faster then when growing crops. We lose 90% of the energy when converting from crops to meat and from meat to energy in our cells. We use enormous amounts of water to keep he meat industry going, which might be the biggest concern we have.

If we would eat only crops we grow we could free up massive amounts of land and stop the soil erosion. The animal industry emits more green house gases then all vehicles on earth, it is the worst possible solution which also speeds up the climate issue, droughts etc . We could save large amounts of water as well and by doing this we will create a sustainable food source capable of  producing food for 8 Bil.

This will give us the time to let  human growth stabilize and we can build grow sky scrapers and produce food vertically so there is no limit on how many we can feed

Peace

[RAMSHIVDEEPAK]

Gov should should come with strict policy like "one child policy" in china.It will help the gov. in long run.
In this chart you can see that... growth rate is going down..



source:GOOGLE

 WAY FORWARD: GOV. should invest in the agriculture field and invest in research related to food ,So we can able to grow more food in less area.

[Badman-Crypto]

There is evidence to show that fertility rate drops in more developed countries. The reasons for this are vast but most likely due in part to people having careers and having children later in life combined with an increased level of healthcare and contraceptives for family planning. There is a load of data here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate that shows the spread of children per family for different parts of the world.

Now, simple math shows that if 2 parents have 2 children to replace them and they in turn have 2 children to replace them that the population will hit a plateau and stop increasing. This is already the case in most Western countries, Australia and Russia, and having one child is strictly enforced in China. It varies by country in Africa and the middle east from 2-3 children per family to 7-8 children per family, and this is mostly due to the lifestyles and society of the people there.

There is also data to show that immigrant families to western countries still maintain high birth rates when first entering a country but within 1 or 2 generations actually lower birth rates to the average for whichever country they settle in. This shows that the problem (if thats what you want to call it) is predominantly influenced by lifestyle and the level of development in a country.

The whole point of this post is this. To fix the problem of overpopulation, developing countries need to increase healthcare levels with access to proper contraceptives and education. They also need to be given options in terms of lifestyle where women are given the opportunity to have a career instead of staying at home to pop out one child after the other.

Hopefully the problem will fix itself over time, but if the more developed countries took more responsibility for the planet that we all share and helped these other countries to develop we could guarantee a solution to this problem without having to find other planets to inhabit.

edit: Another thing I forgot to mention that influences population growth is that people are living longer lives due to better healthcare and diet. Although this will also hit a plateau at some point as human life cannot be extended indefinitely, at least with the current technology that is available, and by time we reach levels where this might be possible it is likely that the birth rate issue will be solved.

edit 2: Just realized that some of my points have already been covered by other posts but I still feel there is valid info in my post.

[Badman-Crypto]

If we would eat only crops we grow we could free up massive amounts of land and stop the soil erosion. The animal industry emits more green house gases then all vehicles on earth, it is the worst possible solution which also speeds up the climate issue, droughts etc . We could save large amounts of water as well and by doing this we will create a sustainable food source capable of  producing food for 8 Bil.

The problem you describe is very real but humans have evolved to eat meat and eating only crops should not be enforced on the population, luckily a solution already exists and only depends upon consumer adoption when it becomes economically viable to mass produce. I'm sure from your name "the biochemist" you have probably already heard of lab grown meat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultured_meat. If it compares to real meat I would happily make the switch.

[TheBiochemist]

If we would eat only crops we grow we could free up massive amounts of land and stop the soil erosion. The animal industry emits more green house gases then all vehicles on earth, it is the worst possible solution which also speeds up the climate issue, droughts etc . We could save large amounts of water as well and by doing this we will create a sustainable food source capable of  producing food for 8 Bil.

The problem you describe is very real but humans have evolved to eat meat and eating only crops should not be enforced on the population, luckily a solution already exists and only depends upon consumer adoption when it becomes economically viable to mass produce. I'm sure from your name "the biochemist" you have probably already heard of lab grown meat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultured_meat. If it compares to real meat I would happily make the switch.

We did not evolve to eat meat, we are not carnivores, coulden´t be more wrong. We have been feeding on vegetables or rather nuts fruits and roots ect for millions of years as apes, meat is new on the menu and NO evolution has taken place since then. It is time to stop denying that meat is the worst option and brings only diseases not good health! I am a professional biochemist and this is just plain facts get it right!

[Badman-Crypto]

We did not evolve to eat meat, we are not carnivores, coulden´t be more wrong. We have been feeding on vegetables or rather nuts fruits and roots ect for millions of years as apes, meat is new on the menu and NO evolution has taken place since then. It is time to stop denying that meat is the worst option and brings only diseases not good health! I am a professional biochemist and this is just plain facts get it right!

If we did not evolve to eat meat why do we have canine teeth, a trait that is observed only in predators?
Why are our eyes located on the front of our face for increased depth perception? another trait observed in carnivore animals to help hunting and chasing prey. If you don't believe me look at the position of a lions eyes, and then look at a rabbit or deer...

We aren't carnivores, you are right in that, but we are definitely omnivores that need a balanced diet of meat and plants.

Im not disagreeing that the meat industry is bad, but to say that people should not eat meat is closed minded.

[TheBiochemist]

We did not evolve to eat meat, we are not carnivores, coulden´t be more wrong. We have been feeding on vegetables or rather nuts fruits and roots ect for millions of years as apes, meat is new on the menu and NO evolution has taken place since then. It is time to stop denying that meat is the worst option and brings only diseases not good health! I am a professional biochemist and this is just plain facts get it right!

If we did not evolve to eat meat why do we have canine teeth, a trait that is observed only in predators?
Why are our eyes located on the front of our face for increased depth perception? another trait observed in carnivore animals to help hunting and chasing prey. If you don't believe me look at the position of a lions eyes, and then look at a rabbit or deer...

We aren't carnivores, you are right in that, but we are definitely omnivores that need a balanced diet of meat and plants.

Im not disagreeing that the meat industry is bad, but to say that people should not eat meat is closed minded.

We have the teeth, guts and stomach PH of frugivores / omnivores and can handle small amounts of meat not 100kg a year, do you think you have the teeth of a wolf??? This is  not accurate!

Animal fats will prevent the production of your own metabolites and shut down the liver and build up fats in the blood and around organs, we cant metabolite or digest meat properly....
Wolves have much larger livers and sharper / different tooth there is no similarities. They eat less often as well, there are nothing suggesting that we should consume meat on a daily basis, fact!

[Foxpup]

@TheBiochemist, this is getting off topic, but there's so much bullshit in this post that I have to say something.

We have the teeth, guts and stomach PH of frugivores / omnivores

As previously mentioned, humans have canine teeth. Human stomach pH is typically around 1.5, which is much closer to typical carnivores than herbivores or even other primates.

and can handle small amounts of meat not 100kg a year

Humans can handle high-meat diets just fine provided organ meats are included - that's where the vitamins are.

do you think you have the teeth of a wolf???

I do! We foxes have identical dentition to wolves, which is why we're in the canid family despite being unrelated to true canines. Yet foxes are omnivores, not carnivores. Why, it's almost as if teeth are not the deciding factor in what a creature can or should eat.

Animal fats will prevent the production of your own metabolites and shut down the liver and build up fats in the blood and around organs, we cant metabolite or digest meat properly....

This is completely untrue. Humans can metabolise animal fat just fine.

Wolves have much larger livers and sharper / different tooth there is no similarities.

There are more similarities than differences. The main difference being that humans lack carnassial molars, used by wolves to eat bones and by foxes to cut chicken wire, but again, teeth aren't a deciding factor.

They eat less often as well, there are nothing suggesting that we should consume meat on a daily basis, fact!

Humans should eat less often too, generally speaking. Humans can survive for weeks without food, in common with carnivores, and intermittent fasting may improve life expectancy.

I've never really understood why vegetarian advocates feel the need to spread such lies, twisted facts, pseudoscience, and general bullshit in their propaganda (and at every opportunity - again, it is off-topic in this thread). Given that there are arguments for vegetarianism that aren't complete bullshit, this sort of behaviour really just makes the cause look bad and is more likely to turn people away from vegetarianism once they learn the truth.

[Badman-Crypto]

We have the teeth, guts and stomach PH of frugivores / omnivores and can handle small amounts of meat not 100kg a year, do you think you have the teeth of a wolf??? This is  not accurate!

1. A frugivore is a type of omnivore which is what I stated.
2. When did I say 100kg of meat per year was a normal healthy diet? Thats the equivalent of roughly 2kg per week...
3. When did I compare human teeth to wolves?

Our closest relatives are Chimpanzees and although they have a mainly plant based diet, there is plenty evidence of that shows they spend a large portion of their foraging time fishing for termites and ant dipping. Heres a scientific study that you can read that states exactly this http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/miltonlab/pdfs/meateating.pdf. Go straight to the conclusions if you don't want to read the whole thing. Furthermore, although primates are our closest relatives, the eating habits of each individual species varies. Evidence in that report also shows strong support for the role of animal based micronutrients being critical in human infant development.

Animal fats will prevent the production of your own metabolites and shut down the liver and build up fats in the blood and around organs, we cant metabolite or digest meat properly....
Wolves have much larger livers and sharper / different tooth there is no similarities. They eat less often as well, there are nothing suggesting that we should consume meat on a daily basis, fact!

If we aren't designed to digest animal fats, how do babies digest their mother's milk? Surely that's a natural intake of animal fats?

This study https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/71/3/682/4729121 finds that hunter gatherers would have consumed about 50% of animal based food in their diets and even this vegan blog states that humans are not exclusively herbivores. https://veganbiologist.com/2016/01/04/humans-are-not-herbivores/. Although I won't argue the science behind saturated fat being linked to fatty liver disease, saturated fat does not exclusively come from animals and you are cherry picking facts to support your argument.

I may have been a bit short sighted in my original post because after looking into it a bit more its possible out eye position originated to aid us in climbing trees. That doesn't take away from the fact that it aided us in our hunter gatherer lifestyle and it could be a combination of both.

Stop arguing with me about stuff that you clearly have a biased view on. You even said yourself that humans are omnivores, which is exactly what I said.

this is getting off topic, but there's so much bullshit in this post that I have to say something.

Apologies if i took this off topic but I guess the whole meat industry thing stems from the sustainability theme of the post

[Spendulus]

Despite the use of various contraceptives, the world population keeps ballooning. Will there come a time that all food will be extinct and we cannot feed ourselves or what is the way forward because we are tilling all the virgin lands etc .

It of course depends on many factors, climate and our behavior mostly, the later of which we can control. Producing meat as a source of food is moronic....

But...

It's so TASTY!!!

[beej]

Despite the use of various contraceptives, the world population keeps ballooning. Will there come a time that all food will be extinct and we cannot feed ourselves or what is the way forward because we are tilling all the virgin lands etc .

Overpopulation will surely have it's toll on the natural resources on our planet.
Pollution and depletion of the natural resources will surely make things harder
for the generations to come. If we don't find alternative solutions to the growing
number of problems, human civilization is at risk. There's always a price to pay.

[Spendulus]

Despite the use of various contraceptives, the world population keeps ballooning. Will there come a time that all food will be extinct and we cannot feed ourselves or what is the way forward because we are tilling all the virgin lands etc .

Overpopulation will surely have it's toll on the natural resources on our planet.
Pollution and depletion of the natural resources will surely make things harder
for the generations to come. If we don't find alternative solutions to the growing
number of problems, human civilization is at risk. There's always a price to pay.

These ideas were proposed by Paul Erich in the 1970s, virtually identically. None of the dire consequences he predicted have came true, and the world, and the welfare of people, is far, far superior to the 1970s. In spite of great increases in population.

[Jemroe01]

Humans are actively spreading in numbers as of now. What will happen in this society will eventually be chaotic and full of conflicts regarding survival. Even if the government takes lead to starting a new changed world, humans are still humans. No one can ever be a hindrance to this growing population, not even political leaders and officials.  It is human's nature. So therefore, the world is more likely to suffer.

[rain road]

As the human population grows, many new problems arise: from environmental issues; Social Security; economy; society's vices..
It will be a difficult question to ask the government and the people to work together to think and change their behavior