The world's challenge : Feeding 9 billion people

Présentation de l'éditeur : Is the world headed toward a major food crisis? After several decades of seeming indifference, public opinion is slowly awakening to the fact that a daunting task lies ahead. If a global population of 9 billion by 2050 is to be fed adequately, more food must be produced, and this in keeping with increasingly stringent standards of quality and with respect for the environment. Not to mention the land that must be set aside for the production of energy resources, industrial goods, carbon storage and the protection of biodiversity. To meet this challenge, societies must innovate, keep losses and waste in check, and reverse the current trend of excessive and imbalanced calorie intake. At the same time, the world must put an end to hunger and with it, the suffering of some one billion people. Researchers the world over have dedicated their life¿s work to finding viable solutions to these key issues on a global scale. In this work, the heads of two leading French agricultural research organisations, INRA and CIRAD, shed light on the issue in terms that are clear and accessible to the public at large. The reader will find a wealth of information, thought provoking insight and some surprising solutions. The world can avert a crisis, provided it makes a firm commitment to profound change, notably in the consumption and production habits of today¿s western societies. Contents: Acknowledgements. Introduction. 1 - Setting the stage: Science enters the equation. A closer look at the issue. Why nine billion? Food for all: two different scenarios. Agrimonde: the results. Les sons learned from the Agrimonde study: change is in order. 2 - Eat well, eat better: Changes at the root of nutritional imbalances. Getting to the root of profound changes. Overnutrition and health. Taking action: a how to. 3 - Reducing losses and waste at consumption, distribution and processing levels: The scope of the issue. Losses at different stages and technical solutions currently implemented. Change is in order. 4 - Reducing post-harvest losses in developing nations: Harvest-related losses: a reality in developed nations as well. Why post-harvest losses in developing countries matter. The challenge of quantifying post-harvest losses. Despite difficulties in quantifying losses, one thing is clear: post-harvest losses are significant. Post-harvest losses and when they occur. Next steps. Annex. 5 - Producing other goods: What is biomass? High expectations for energy. New possibilities for green chemistry. Meeting these new needs by choosing the right biomass. How these prospects change the hunger equation. 6 - Managing ecosystem services: Agriculture and ecosystem services. Biodiversity's key role in ecological regulating services. Using and managing ecosystem services. 7 - Will there be enough land?: Agricultural land: a look at the current situation. The impact of climate change on agricultural production potential. Non-food uses for biomass: an excessive need for land? Economic, policy and social factors affecting land use conversion. 8 - The need to strive for productive yet ecological agriculture: Optimised productivity of arable land. Environmental degradation. Increased, improved production: a realistic goal? Intensive, capital-poor agriculture: the case of South-East Asia. Agricultural systems with productivity reserves. Is sub-Saharan agriculture in need of new development? Thinking and acting globally. 9 - Feeding the world starts with fighting poverty: Mapping hunger. The usual suspect: blaming malnutrition on a lack of available food. The link between food and poverty: common assumptions and misconceptions. Charting a course of action. 10 - Towards a global governance of food: Re-examining the food riots. We must step back from agriculture in order to understand it. Diets: a factor of future need. Reinvesting in agriculture: an urgent necessity. Fighting poverty. Regulation: rules as a safety net. The need for global govern