Same size Earth
What future for an overpopulated Earth?
Introduction:
It appears that humanity is facing an enormous challenge. The population of the planet surpassed 7 billion in 2014, and it is projected to reach about 10 billion by 2050. The future is in jeopardy, as a greater number of people will need to consume more from a planet that remains the same size. Humankind will be obliged to find ways of feeding a consistently growing number of inhabitants to survive. The film Soylent Green, (1973), with the late Charlton Heston, depicts a science fiction vision of an overpopulated world. The Soylent Green, the food for the 40 billion people, was, in fact, dead people. It is science fiction, but it represents a call for awareness as of how …show more content…
Up to now, we have been able to manage ecological degradation, but given the conditions, (mainly soil poisoning and water pollution); Earth’s soil will prohibit humans to grow natural products for its subsistence. Even though we may argue that other forms of alternate food production should be able to solve the problem, those solutions to nutrition might be, shall never find comparison with the natural organic food that humans are biologically adjusted to consume. Conventional farming is one example of the steps in that direction, by using synthetic materials to promote plant growth and the confinement of high numbers of livestock in relatively small areas to increase production. If we wish to protect our soil, we need to come up with solutions to make conventional farming more Earth friendly, adopting the methods of organic farming. However, the facts that organic products are more expensive than the conventional ones, and that humans are increasingly pushing against global ecological constraints, confirm the impracticability of such procedure. In the other hand, how can we go back to organic farming if conventional farming has greatly increased their means of production? In light of this, conventional farming will temporarily feed a greater number of people, while organic farming will protect the soil, but will not feed as
What future for an overpopulated Earth?
Introduction:
It appears that humanity is facing an enormous challenge. The population of the planet surpassed 7 billion in 2014, and it is projected to reach about 10 billion by 2050. The future is in jeopardy, as a greater number of people will need to consume more from a planet that remains the same size. Humankind will be obliged to find ways of feeding a consistently growing number of inhabitants to survive. The film Soylent Green, (1973), with the late Charlton Heston, depicts a science fiction vision of an overpopulated world. The Soylent Green, the food for the 40 billion people, was, in fact, dead people. It is science fiction, but it represents a call for awareness as of how …show more content…
Up to now, we have been able to manage ecological degradation, but given the conditions, (mainly soil poisoning and water pollution); Earth’s soil will prohibit humans to grow natural products for its subsistence. Even though we may argue that other forms of alternate food production should be able to solve the problem, those solutions to nutrition might be, shall never find comparison with the natural organic food that humans are biologically adjusted to consume. Conventional farming is one example of the steps in that direction, by using synthetic materials to promote plant growth and the confinement of high numbers of livestock in relatively small areas to increase production. If we wish to protect our soil, we need to come up with solutions to make conventional farming more Earth friendly, adopting the methods of organic farming. However, the facts that organic products are more expensive than the conventional ones, and that humans are increasingly pushing against global ecological constraints, confirm the impracticability of such procedure. In the other hand, how can we go back to organic farming if conventional farming has greatly increased their means of production? In light of this, conventional farming will temporarily feed a greater number of people, while organic farming will protect the soil, but will not feed as