The Economic Formulas For Future Food Shortage

[Hydrogen]

Please consider the following.


Fossil Fuels

• Most nations import food from regions outside their borders, making them dependent on stable fossil fuel prices to maintain shipping costs
• When the price of oil rises and shipping costs inflate, the additional costs are passed on to consumers in the form of higher food prices
• Chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides used in commercial agriculture are often derived from natural gas
• Rising chemical gas prices can greatly elevate the cost of fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide

Climate Change

• Global warming gives us hotter summers, while another climate change phenomenon known as global dimming (airborne pollution particles blocking or reflecting sunshine) gives us colder winters
• Flooding floods crops and harvests
• Drought makes water scarce, increasing the price of water needed for agriculture

Economic Downtrend

• Liquidity and credit can dry up in economic downturns making it more difficult to sustain agriculture operations in times of crisis
• Many farmers do not own their farmland and make monthly payments which can be destabilized by rising interest rates and inflation

It seems clear we have future agriculture issues.

Perhaps governments of the world could further subsidize agriculture production to incentivize markets against higher fossil fuel prices, climate change and other negatives. But there is a considerable lag time for growing food that is measured in months from seed planting to harvest. If shortages arise, it would take a minimum of months to address them.

From past history we know food shortages are a massive ecological disaster. Hungry people try to eat grass, leaves and random things growing in the wild. Destroying forests and nature.

I hope everyone realizes getting in early and preparing is the best strategy for mitigating these types of potential disasters.

Don't sit and wait thinking governments will save you.

While agriculture and plants are one food option. There are definitely others. Its easier than ever to farm fish and shrimp within a small area.

It is also a good time to learn to hunt and fish. Or find places where there are food sources growing naturally in the wild.

[1714330410]

1714330410

[1714330410]

1714330410

[1714330410]

1714330410

[1714330410]

1714330410

[1714330410]

1714330410

[hatshepsut93]

Food shortage is still unlikely. The productivity of modern agriculture is very high. In the US 30-40% of food gets thrown away. Also the US pays certain farmers to not grow anything on their land for environmental reasons - this also shows that we are very far from food insecurity.  GMO, better equipment, better fertilizers and pesticides dramatically increase food production.

[Flexystar]

This reminds me few chapters from the history book and how humans are making it too difficult to live these days. The problem is not with food shortages, it’s about the lifestyle and population as well. Why I am saying lifestyle? Well remember the topics from history books about our ancestors and how they survived? The farming was not even in practice and yet humans lived on fruits, meat, and raw food material available readily in the nature. They survived, they never needed cheesy pizza or compulsory nutrient diet with measured values???
We can still survive without any further stress considering the technological advances we have at our hands. We are in still far better situation if we “adjust” few things in our lives.

[Hydrogen]

Food shortage is still unlikely. The productivity of modern agriculture is very high. In the US 30-40% of food gets thrown away. Also the US pays certain farmers to not grow anything on their land for environmental reasons - this also shows that we are very far from food insecurity.  GMO, better equipment, better fertilizers and pesticides dramatically increase food production.

You say we're very far from food insecurity. But have you seen prices in stores? They're becoming unaffordable for many.

We are currently facing severe oil and natural gas shortages. Despite those fossil fuels being critically necessary to the function of the economy and peoples lives.

One method of reducing prices in stores is for everyone to grow an abundance of food. Until market prices are forced to decline by increased supply.

We can also grow crops which can be refined into biodiesel fuel in an effort to reduce shipping and transportation costs in the country.

If anyone wants a hot tip for founding a start up. Think about growing things that can be refined into biodiesel. Then selling at the record high prices we see today to reap a good profit.

[BIT-BENDER]

Yes it may seem we have a future in agriculture but finally it's all getting destroyed and we are the one causing the damages.
+chemical population: yes chemistry has answered many questions and brought forth useful solutions to many of man's problems but the chemicals also has taking so much from man, chemicals has positive and negative impact on agriculture, we are getting so much of the latter in recent years.   

+ shortage of lands: the world is urbanizing and now we have started to encourage in fertile lands to build housing, institutes and infrastructures neglecting the fact that those lands could be used for agriculture.

+ overly patronizing junks. Large majority of obese cases has to do with junk foods, but these junk food has now become more accessible, and even affordable na properly cultivated foods, leading to diminishing interest in agriculture.

[kryptqnick]

There are no simple solutions to complex problems, and any rapid major changes will hurt some even when it benefits others or our planet generally.
But there are some things that can be promoted to encourage change. For example, cutting down on meat consumption would involve health benefits, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, freeing up some lands, using less resources like crops and water. Another thing is promoting living in smaller spaces, in flats rather than houses. This also means spending less resources, which is important for the future of humanity. Being mindful about at least basic waste sorting, trying not to overuse electricity when it can be avoided (maybe you don't need enough heating to walk in a t-shirt during winter or that much air conditioning at summer because you just like to feel chilly) and/or switch to better sources of energy when possible, favouring public transit over a car, buying the right amount of food so that a big portion of what you buy doesn't end up becoming waste are all things that can help and can be promoted. But, of course, there should also be structural change, and the sort of changes required depend on countries, as some have clean energy but bad public transit, some have too many factories that harm the environment etc. As for food, too much of it goes to waste that could instead be given to people who need it before that happens, so focusing on food-sharing initiatives, free soup kitchens and stuff is crucial. There are solutions, but humanity must get committed to them for them to work.

[DrBeer]

The first part of the problem: There is an interesting statistic that says that about 30% of the products produced, in fact, have a life cycle: a store shelf - a shopping cart - ... GARBAGE bin!
This applies, of course, to countries with an average and higher standard of living.

The second part of the problem: let's honestly and objectively determine where there are problems with food? For the last 30 years, I've been hearing that the problem with food is mainly Africa. The question is what is wrong with Africa? Why are most of the starving people SITTING AND WAITING FOR FOOD? Who forbade them to engage in agriculture, grow livestock, vegetables? I do not remember the prohibitions... Although I agree, there are regions on the continent of Africa where it is difficult to conduct agriculture. BUT why is Israel, which actually does not have fertile land, not only provides for itself, but also exports fruits and vegetables?
No, I'm not a cynic, and I'm not an anti-humanist. I am worried why some should work in elephantine conditions, while others should demand and wait when those who work and produce will support those who do not want to work and strain? I agree, it sounds a bit ugly. But justifiably prove me wrong!

[Vaskiy]

Yes it may seem we have a future in agriculture but finally it's all getting destroyed and we are the one causing the damages.
+chemical population: yes chemistry has answered many questions and brought forth useful solutions to many of man's problems but the chemicals also has taking so much from man, chemicals has positive and negative impact on agriculture, we are getting so much of the latter in recent years.   

+ shortage of lands: the world is urbanizing and now we have started to encourage in fertile lands to build housing, institutes and infrastructures neglecting the fact that those lands could be used for agriculture.

+ overly patronizing junks. Large majority of obese cases has to do with junk foods, but these junk food has now become more accessible, and even affordable na properly cultivated foods, leading to diminishing interest in agriculture.

Beyond all this the corporate networks involvement into agriculture have taken head. Many have acquired a huge volume of property for agricultural production. This will finally cause huge economical blow over the small scale farmers who are into agriculture with small piece of lands. In such situation we'll have increased production, and the price will be fixed by the corporate. End of the day the small farmers will be working as corporate employees which is a very sad thing.

[Zlantann]

Food shortage is still unlikely. The productivity of modern agriculture is very high. In the US 30-40% of food gets thrown away. Also the US pays certain farmers to not grow anything on their land for environmental reasons - this also shows that we are very far from food insecurity.  GMO, better equipment, better fertilizers and pesticides dramatically increase food production.

A report by the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) in 2021 indicated that about 17% of global food production may go wasted, this is about a 100% increase from previous estimates. And I am sure this report is reliable because the amount of food waste in my country recently is becoming a national concern. And one of the highlights of this report is that household food waste per capita is similar across high-income, upper-middle-income, and lower-middle-income countries. Therefore there would be an even increase in food production if necessary steps are taken to reduce waste through improved food storage systems.

 

This reminds me few chapters from the history book and how humans are making it too difficult to live these days. The problem is not with food shortages, it’s about the lifestyle and population as well.

Conflict, rural-urban migration, and natural disasters affect the world's food production more than the population. Most food shortages experienced are manmade. A clear example is the case of the Russia-Ukraine conflict which led to the scarcity of certain agricultural products. In my country, farmers are fleeing from their farms because of communal clashes and constant attacks by heavily armed herders.
Due to the lack of infrastructure in rural areas most youths that were active farmers are leaving the rural areas for the urban areas. This has led to the reduction of manpower in the agricultural sector.
The case of flooding and other natural occurrences also affects farmers negatively. So many farms have been destroyed by floods in my country and there are still predictions that it would not end until next month.

I think mother earth has enough food to feed its children regardless of their population.
 
   

[Poker Player]

Perhaps governments of the world could further subsidize agriculture production

Do you want them to subsidize agriculture more than they already do? It's the other way around, what they have to ensure is free competition, which is what has led to billions of people having the most abundant and cheapest food in human history in the last decades.

Don't sit and wait thinking governments will save you.

Yes, so they should not subsidize.

It is also a good time to learn to hunt and fish. Or find places where there are food sources growing naturally in the wild.

I hope we don't get to that Mad Max-style situation, but if we did, guns wouldn't have to be used only for hunting or fishing.

[Crypto_I.N]

There are no simple solutions to complex problems, and any rapid major changes will hurt some even when it benefits others or our planet generally.
But there are some things that can be promoted to encourage change. For example, cutting down on meat consumption would involve health benefits, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, freeing up some lands, using less resources like crops and water. Another thing is promoting living in smaller spaces, in flats rather than houses. This also means spending less resources, which is important for the future of humanity. Being mindful about at least basic waste sorting, trying not to overuse electricity when it can be avoided (maybe you don't need enough heating to walk in a t-shirt during winter or that much air conditioning at summer because you just like to feel chilly) and/or switch to better sources of energy when possible, favouring public transit over a car, buying the right amount of food so that a big portion of what you buy doesn't end up becoming waste are all things that can help and can be promoted. But, of course, there should also be structural change, and the sort of changes required depend on countries, as some have clean energy but bad public transit, some have too many factories that harm the environment etc. As for food, too much of it goes to waste that could instead be given to people who need it before that happens, so focusing on food-sharing initiatives, free soup kitchens and stuff is crucial. There are solutions, but humanity must get committed to them for them to work.

I agree with you, but now many countries are short of food ingredients and this is a very big problem for the country, but the country should have started from now on to change and harm this universe, now it can't be changed anymore, now Sudan, the world digital, now how in every country, especially schools implement education to create food for the future

[Doan9269]

One of the best economic strategies to solving the challenging problems of food shortage or inflation being the master consequence of food shortage is to engage in agriculture, if everyone has as little as a small farm garden to get their produce by raising them indoor, things could have come abit under control and market pruce would not be inflated since everyone is into the practice but to say the fact, we all have deviated from the practice of farming, learning agriculture now because a rare thing to do and those in it has nothing to do than inflating the price whenever their shortage in supply.

[MarjorieZimmermanGinger]

Please consider the following.

Fossil Fuels

• Most nations import food from regions outside their borders, making them dependent on stable fossil fuel prices to maintain shipping costs
• When the price of oil rises and shipping costs inflate, the additional costs are passed on to consumers in the form of higher food prices
• Chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides used in commercial agriculture are often derived from natural gas
• Rising chemical gas prices can greatly elevate the cost of fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide

If discussed at length regarding this issue, then the available writing fields will be sufficient to accommodate analysts and statistics.
In fact, people tend to ignore the issue of food which can be produced by themselves, so that only for the needs of chili, onions and others must be exported, even though the available plots of land allow this to be done by each individual.

Climate Change

• Global warming gives us hotter summers, while another climate change phenomenon known as global dimming (airborne pollution particles blocking or reflecting sunshine) gives us colder winters
• Flooding floods crops and harvests
• Drought makes water scarce, increasing the price of water needed for agriculture

Regulations relating to oil are contained in government regulations, this is difficult if faced with the resolution of the people, because the highest authority is in their policies, but unfortunately they are not there to protect the people.
The oil subsidies given to the poor are not in accordance with the recipients, so that those who take advantage of the subsidies return to those who can afford it.

Economic Downtrend

• Liquidity and credit can dry up in economic downturns making it more difficult to sustain agriculture operations in times of crisis
• Many farmers do not own their farmland and make monthly payments which can be destabilized by rising interest rates and inflation

Chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides are not very good for health, many health problems arise from this.
If the government wants to develop organic fertilizer, then health and scarcity will be answered by itself.
In some countries it can be a representation of agricultural products using organic fertilizers and yields are also quite good.

It seems clear we have future agriculture issues.

Perhaps governments of the world could further subsidize agriculture production to incentivize markets against higher fossil fuel prices, climate change and other negatives. But there is a considerable lag time for growing food that is measured in months from seed planting to harvest. If shortages arise, it would take a minimum of months to address them.

From past history we know food shortages are a massive ecological disaster. Hungry people try to eat grass, leaves and random things growing in the wild. Destroying forests and nature.

I hope everyone realizes getting in early and preparing is the best strategy for mitigating these types of potential disasters

It is clear that this is the biggest problem that we will face in the future, as well as a catastrophe that could explode at any time. The human ecosystem will be affected by the capacity of agriculture, if the available land decreases, then what will happen to our children and grandchildren.
Human growth is increasing, agricultural land is decreasing, this will have quite an impact on human survival on earth.
Not to mention talking about the climate, which is being destroyed intentionally by irresponsible people, forests are cut down, global warming is happening everywhere and major disasters continue to hit the world.
What solutions can be done by our children and grandchildren later, if today no one starts thinking about it.

Don't sit and wait thinking governments will save you

Yes, the biggest mistake is just hoping the government comes to our rescue, if today we don't start limiting the sale of agricultural land, making organic fertilizers and other problems with global warming, deforestation and other things related to the destruction of the entire existing ecosystems.
We can do this together, individually, in groups and in collaboration with a government that cares for the people, if we don't start today, our children and grandchildren will feel a fairly severe impact on the destruction of this earth.

While agriculture and plants are one food option. There are definitely others. Its easier than ever to farm fish and shrimp within a small area.
It is also a good time to learn to hunt and fish. Or find places where there are food sources growing naturally in the wild.

If this is not maintained properly, it is not impossible that food, plants, fish will also look scarce in the future, when the forest is damaged, the sea is filled with garbage that can cause the ecosystem in it to die, then no human can guarantee its survival.
Food that grows naturally in the wild, only able to accommodate how many percent of humans, whether later we will become zombies that eat each other.

It is not impossible that this will happen, if nature, forests, and the sea are no longer protected.
Human awareness must really grow in guarding this problem, otherwise it will be a big disaster for our children and grandchildren later.

[TimeTeller]

One of the best economic strategies to solving the challenging problems of food shortage or inflation being the master consequence of food shortage is to engage in agriculture, if everyone has as little as a small farm garden to get their produce by raising them indoor, things could have come abit under control and market pruce would not be inflated since everyone is into the practice but to say the fact, we all have deviated from the practice of farming, learning agriculture now because a rare thing to do and those in it has nothing to do than inflating the price whenever their shortage in supply.

I am also with this concept, if people won't totally rely from their market to cater their food needs,
I believe the impact of inflation or food shortage won't be that much to everyone.
As you said, if everyone has the initiative to produce something out of his garden/backyard/front yard,
no matter how small the area is, it will give you some produce that may not only sustain some of your kitchen needs,
but you can also barter it to your neighbors and be at least self-sufficient with some food supplies.
We don't need to wait for our government to initiate some programs to address food shortage.
We can already start addressing this problem within ourselves and act as if no one will assist us on this battle.

[gantez]

When we talk about food shortage , we don't look at a factor which is very important and that food preservation. To have a food preservation system is very helpful to solve the problem of food shortage. Food that are cultivated or produced in time of plenty need to be stored somewhere so that they are useful in other season and they help sustain the people. During the time for harvesting you see food that get damaged because no preservation for them to stay till next season.

[Gyfts]

Climate change matters won't affect food supply for a long time so there shouldn't be a worry in the immediate future over factors that humans probably couldn't control anyways. If there were resources to be invested, it'd be ensuring the agriculture industry can adapt to climate, not trying to spend money to stop inevitable climate change.

Anyways, the reason for food shortages right now are supply chain issues pertaining to COVID that were never fully restored, and energy cost increases associated with war. I'm hopeful that food related issues will resolve itself when the war concludes, the uncertainty of course being that we don't know when that will happen.