GEOGRAPHIES OF SUSTAINABLE FOOD - Essay Example

The global food print has risen sturdily over the years. In 1961, 27% of the earth’s biosphere had been used up by the global food system (Deumling, Wackernagel and Monfreda 1). Currently, 40% of the earth’s biologically productive area is under the global food system or 47%, if non-edible crops (such as tobacco) or unharvested crops are included (Deumling, Wackernagel and Monfreda 2). Infrastructure and urban growth utilizes the additional productive land, while also exerting pressure on existing ecosystems.

In fact, expanding food production to new and less productive marginal lands is not a sustainable option in the long term. Bringing the global food print in line with the earth’s biosphere capacity is the only sustainable solution to the current unsustainable global food system (Deumling, Wackernagel and Monfreda 1). Three major revolutions have changed agricultural production in the fullness of time. The initial revolution concerned the growth of sow agriculture and the utilization of animal muscle to increase arable land.

The next revolution occupied the more advance of technologies, such as enhanced yokes for extra organized animal labor, fertilizers application, and improvement of drainage systems; at the same instant, the industrial revolution began. The third revolution was distinguished by numerous innovations; food manufacturing chemical agriculture and automation. The last revolution laid the base for the agricultural industry, transforming agriculture from the farm to the entire practice of developing high yielding hybrids, as well as food transport to the user, developing an agro-commodity manufacture scheme (Knox and Marston 266).

Biotechnology is a new phenomenon in agriculture. Enthusiasts on the one hand suggest that production expenses reduce when biotechnology is utilized in farming, handling matters of environmental deterioration, chemicals misuse, and soil exhaustion. All together, Biotechnology worries a number of critics who argue that the circulation of Biotechnology resides in the selected parts of the world, with its advantages never benefiting the consumer. Biotechnology seeks to transform farming, making several farming practices outdated (Knox and Marston 298).

What are the main challenges currently confronting our global food system? The current global food system was popular until late in the 20th century. More food was produced than before, more cheaply and with a measure of safety, assortment, quality, and ease that previous generations would find puzzling (Wilson 1). Hunger seemed to be a thing of the past. Currently however, the global food systems seem to promote overconsumption and scarcity, at the same time shrinking the earth’s ability to produce food in future.

(Wilson 2). Aligning the global food print with the earth’s biosphere capacity is the major challenge facing the current global food system. The global food print is comprised of four primary components, these are cropland. Pasture, energy, and fisheries. Understanding patterns of bio-capacity consumption by each of these sectors enables easier and specific targeting of these consumption areas of the global food print (Deumling, Wackernagel and Monfreda 2). The cropland footprint has gradually increased with the world population.

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