The fitness of the earth for life and how it relates to the world food situation
It is a silent tsunami. Most people in several countries of the world have drowned in it. Indeed, the comparison between hunger and tsunami is valid. From food riots to Haiti, to severe famine in parts of Africa, hunger has continued to extend its claws on the earth. This has been as a result of skewed policies in the world, unsustainable development and inequitable trade. Gone are the days when the small scale farmers resisted seed and plant destruction, diversified their crops, conserved forests and protected the soils. Industrialization has come with a package of negative effects on the environment, which have rendered the mother earth unfit for the survival of living and non-living organisms (Patel Gimenez, 2009). This essay seeks to discuss the environmental factors that threaten life on earth in relation to the global food situation.
The production of food has been threatened by many factors in the universe. According to Magdoff (2010), several world governments have failed to provide sustainable agricultural techniques which enhance the environment. A secure and sustainable food system is as a result of a good relationship between the leaders of the world and their subjects. This is because some leaders are so much into industrialization at the expense of the agricultural sector. Therefore, if the leaders should emphasize on environmental considerations before embarking on the industrial ones, the earth would be a safe place to live in.
Human beings have exploited the available natural resources in the environment at the expense of other sectors, like food production.The dynamic interactions within and between the human and the biogeophysical environments have resulted to conditions that have threatened food security in the world (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2010)
Biofuel use-the green alternative
Biofuels are being used as a green alternative to fossil fuels like oil. Biofuels are usually derived from plants like corn and wheat in the U.S., and from soy and palm in Europe. In some countries like Brazil, it is gotten from sugarcane (Aditya, 2010). There has been an increase in the biofuel mandates like ethanol, which has been gotten from crops. Several world government mandates have led to the significant expansion of the use of biofuels. They claim that biofuels protect people from the escalation of oil prices, and that countries do not over rely on unfriendly and unstable regimes. More importantly, the countries propose that the use of biofuels protect the environment as they reduce the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming. The biofuels sectors also enjoy protectionist tariffs and preferential tax treatment (Schaefer, Lieberman Riedl, 2008).
According to Schaefer, Lieberman Riedl (2008), biofuel has resulted to inflation of food prices in several countries in the world. The policies of the use of biofuel were introduced without considering the impact that it had on food production. For example, in the U.S., the price of rice increased sharply as a result of renewable fuel use. In the recent years, the world food crisis has doubled .The prices of seeds and vegetable oils have shot up as a result of biofuel use.
A research conducted in the U.S. showed that in 2008, the country needed to mix the gasoline supply with nine billion gallons biofuels, mainly ethanol. It was expected that the requirement would increase in 2009, with a rise up to eleven billion gallons. The research estimated that by the year 2036, the U.S. requirement of the renewable fuels would reach thirty six billion gallons, and fifteen of them would be derived from corn. The U.S. was not the only country with future biofuel estimates. The European Union predicted that by 2020, biofuels would account for ten percent of the fuels used in the transport sector (Schaefer, Lieberman Riedl 2008).
Effects of biofuel on the world prices
Little thought was given on the mandates made by various governments and their effects to world food prices. Food prices have escalated as a result of the use of renewable fuels. As a result of the biofuel extraction, corn prices have doubled since 2006.This is because soybean and wheat prices have increased because of diverted corn production by most farm owners (Schaefer, Lieberman Riedl, 2008).
There has been a debate by experts on the escalating food prices. For instance, in 2008 the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture stated that in Rome, the effect of ethanol on food prices was less than three percent. His claims were refuted by the International Food Policy Research Institute, which stated that ethanol accounted for over thirty percent of the increase in prices. However, the two bodies agreed that biofuel mandates like ethanol had affected the supplies and demand of food products. When crops like corn are used to produce biofuel, the corn becomes limited. Therefore, the supply becomes low, increasing the demand. As a result, the food prices escalate (Schaefer, Lieberman Riedl 2008).
Severally, the leaders of the G8 industrialized countries meet to discuss the escalating food prices as a result of biofuel. In a meeting held in Hokkaido, the countries discussed the food crisis in the world. They agreed that they would introduce measures that would curb the use of plant-derived fuels. The leaders also stated that they would pressurize the British government so that it can do the same. This is because the British government had played a significant role in raising the prices of food in the country. The World Bank estimates that every time the renewable fuels like biofuels are used, there are rising food prices which push more than one hundred million people to extreme poverty. Biofuels have resulted to successive droughts in Australia. The U.S. drive for biofuels has also had a large impact on the prices of food and its supply (Aditya, 2010).
Biofuels have affected corn production in three major ways. To start with, the corn which could have been used for food has been channeled to the fuel sector. Over a third of the U.S. corn produce has been used to for renewable fuel, mainly the corn ethanol. Additionally, about a half of the vegetable oils in the European Union has been channeled to biodiesel production. Secondly, farmers in the U.S. are encouraged to set aside a part of land for purposes of biofuel. Thirdly, the grain produced by the farmers has had very high prices. This is because of the financial speculations that have been associated with the grains (Aditya, 2010).
From the discussion above, biofuel has made life on earth difficult as far as the food situation is concerned. Since earth is the only planet that sustains life, measures should be undertaken so as to curb the use of renewable fuels. In a bid to prevent the food crisis, the various governments of the world should make sure that there are no restrictions on the exploitation of natural gas and domestic oil reserves. There is no doubt that petroleum will continue being the major fuel for transport for the coming generation. Gas is also important as it has a role to play in the manufacture of fertilizers. Therefore, the U.S. should maximize on the use of gas reserves and petroleum, both offshore and onshore (Schaefer, Lieberman Riedl 2008).
How to curb biofuel effects
It is true that the use of biofuels contribute to the reduction of the greenhouse gases produced by petroleum products. However, the impact of its advantage is not felt, as oil products will continue being the major transport fuel. Therefore, a moratorium on biofuels should be set in all countries of the world. When this is done, there will be no competition between industrialization and agriculture, and food sufficiency will suffice on the earth (Action Aid, 2009).Consequently, the earth would be fit for maintaining the biodiversity.
Global warming
Global warming has always been an issue of discussion on most of the world forums. The recent Copenhagen talks were as a result of the global warming crisis. The Kyoto protocol was revisited in the talks. The Kyoto protocol is an agreement which was made internationally by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The protocol binds thirty seven industrialized countries for the reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions (GHS).The high levels of the greenhouse emissions in the earth are as a result of the one hundred and fifty years of industrial activity by the developed countries (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2010).
A research conducted at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2008 has shown that the global food crisis has been caused by the rising background ozone levels in the atmosphere. It has lowered the yield of important food crops like soybeans and wheat. A specialist in the insect, plant and soil sciences, Professor Manning, stated that plants are more sensitive to the ozone then human beings. Therefore, a slight increase in the exposure of ozone can have an effect on the plants productivity (Science Daily, 2008).
Example on studies on the ozone layer
Several efforts have been made so as to protect the effect of the ozone layer on animals and human beings. However, little has been done to protect the plants from the ozone exposure. According to Professor Manning, there were new standards which were set by the U.S. meant for protecting the human beings. However, the standards were not keen in protecting the life of the plants. Emission controls from vehicles have reduced the short periods of peaks, which refers to high ozone levels. However, the average concentration of ozone in the air throughout the year, which is also referred to as the background level has increased. This happens when polluted atmospheric masses from Asia travel to the U.S., and then back to Europe. According to research, the background levels are expected to increase to eighty four parts per billion by the year 2100 (Science Daily, 2008).
Professor Manning was also involved in researching on how the ozone levels affected the oilseed rate growth. His study was based in the Yangtze delta, China. The results of his study revealed that exposure of the seeds to elevated ozone reduced the weight and the size, or what is known as the biomass of the seeds. The reduction was recorded to be ten to twenty percent. Further studies of the same group revealed that rice was less sensitive to ozone than wheat. Therefore, it revealed that sensitivity to ozone varied, depending on the plants. The most sensitive plant species to ozone are from the cabbage and legume families, which include broccoli, soybeans and radishes (Science Daily, 2008).
Global warming effects in relation to the food crisis
Plants are affected by a gradual increase in the atmospheric temperature levels. Minute shifts in climate changes result to great harm in a number of species. The polar region and mountain plants are the most vulnerable to the effects of global warming. This is because the melting of ice affects the plants as the world becomes warmer than the temperatures that the plants are accustomed to. However, some plants are able to adapt to the situation, but very few can do so (Alyysa, 2010). Plants have their own ways of limiting the damage of ozone for some short periods of time. They do this by reducing the size of their stomata which reduces the uptake of carbon dioxide and ozone. Chronic exposure of plants to the ozone layer leads to reduced photosynthesis and plant yield. Eventually, leaf injury occurs when the ozone taken in is more than what the antioxidants countering the effects can offer (Science Daily, 2008).
Global warming is the cause of the forest fires that occur in various parts of the world as a result of drought and high temperatures. Consequently, there is the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. As temperatures begin to rise, the plants in various areas begin to grow in areas they are not found in. As they try to accustom to the new temperature conditions, the season of their growth is altered as a result of temperature change. Several plants are not able to produce as the temperature rises, therefore causing the plant species to be limited. Global warming affects seasons, thereby affecting the precipitation patterns. The heat waves take a longer time, therefore causing plants to die. The variety of plant species are also harmed by frost days. At this period, the plants are affected by predatory insects (Alyssa, 2010).
The effects of global warming therefore lead to diminishing plant species. This have in turn affected the food production in the world. A chain reaction will be caused by the lack of food. Therefore, there would be no life sustainability for the existing biodiversity. Global warming is a threat to food security. Since the crops will be limited as a result of global warming, their demand will be high. Therefore, there will be an escalation of the food prices in the world (Gregory, Ingram Brklacich, 2010).
The effects of climate change are direct or indirect. There will be an effect to the supply chain infrastructure. All the middlemen involved in supplying the food products will be affected, as the prices of food will be high. For example, in the southern part of Africa, climate is the cause of food insecurity .It acts as a short-lived shock, ongoing or underlying issue. In these regions, there is a low ability of coping with shock (Gregory, Ingram Brklacich, 2010). As a result, the effects of global warming are heavily felt due to the threatened crop growth, most people will rely on purchased food, and those who cannot afford will rely on food aid. When the citizens of a country rely on purchased food and others on aid, there is increased poverty in a region (Gregory, Ingram Brklacich, 2010).
How to tackle the problem of climate change
The different governments should identify and evaluate mechanisms which will reduce vulnerability to climate change. Additionally, governments should identify measures which have been tackled in the past so as to curb the effects of climate change in the world. Other measures like Afforestation should be practiced so as to ensure that the cycle of precipitation is not affected in any way (Gregory, Ingram Brklacich, 2010). According to Mathai (2008), planting of indigenous trees contributes a lot to the preservation and conservation of the local biodiversity, and are an ecological asset. According to her, sustainable agricultural empowerment is the key to survival of human beings on earth. Therefore, she encourages the small scale farmers to practice traditional farming methods as they are less harmful to the environment.
The threats of the earth in relation to its ability to sustain life are mainly the climate change resulting from global warming and biofuel use. They have drastically affected the production of food in the world, thereby causing a crisis. The countries in the world should address theses problems so as to protect our mother earth, and to make her a better place for the living organisms.
The production of food has been threatened by many factors in the universe. According to Magdoff (2010), several world governments have failed to provide sustainable agricultural techniques which enhance the environment. A secure and sustainable food system is as a result of a good relationship between the leaders of the world and their subjects. This is because some leaders are so much into industrialization at the expense of the agricultural sector. Therefore, if the leaders should emphasize on environmental considerations before embarking on the industrial ones, the earth would be a safe place to live in.
Human beings have exploited the available natural resources in the environment at the expense of other sectors, like food production.The dynamic interactions within and between the human and the biogeophysical environments have resulted to conditions that have threatened food security in the world (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2010)
Biofuel use-the green alternative
Biofuels are being used as a green alternative to fossil fuels like oil. Biofuels are usually derived from plants like corn and wheat in the U.S., and from soy and palm in Europe. In some countries like Brazil, it is gotten from sugarcane (Aditya, 2010). There has been an increase in the biofuel mandates like ethanol, which has been gotten from crops. Several world government mandates have led to the significant expansion of the use of biofuels. They claim that biofuels protect people from the escalation of oil prices, and that countries do not over rely on unfriendly and unstable regimes. More importantly, the countries propose that the use of biofuels protect the environment as they reduce the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming. The biofuels sectors also enjoy protectionist tariffs and preferential tax treatment (Schaefer, Lieberman Riedl, 2008).
According to Schaefer, Lieberman Riedl (2008), biofuel has resulted to inflation of food prices in several countries in the world. The policies of the use of biofuel were introduced without considering the impact that it had on food production. For example, in the U.S., the price of rice increased sharply as a result of renewable fuel use. In the recent years, the world food crisis has doubled .The prices of seeds and vegetable oils have shot up as a result of biofuel use.
A research conducted in the U.S. showed that in 2008, the country needed to mix the gasoline supply with nine billion gallons biofuels, mainly ethanol. It was expected that the requirement would increase in 2009, with a rise up to eleven billion gallons. The research estimated that by the year 2036, the U.S. requirement of the renewable fuels would reach thirty six billion gallons, and fifteen of them would be derived from corn. The U.S. was not the only country with future biofuel estimates. The European Union predicted that by 2020, biofuels would account for ten percent of the fuels used in the transport sector (Schaefer, Lieberman Riedl 2008).
Effects of biofuel on the world prices
Little thought was given on the mandates made by various governments and their effects to world food prices. Food prices have escalated as a result of the use of renewable fuels. As a result of the biofuel extraction, corn prices have doubled since 2006.This is because soybean and wheat prices have increased because of diverted corn production by most farm owners (Schaefer, Lieberman Riedl, 2008).
There has been a debate by experts on the escalating food prices. For instance, in 2008 the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture stated that in Rome, the effect of ethanol on food prices was less than three percent. His claims were refuted by the International Food Policy Research Institute, which stated that ethanol accounted for over thirty percent of the increase in prices. However, the two bodies agreed that biofuel mandates like ethanol had affected the supplies and demand of food products. When crops like corn are used to produce biofuel, the corn becomes limited. Therefore, the supply becomes low, increasing the demand. As a result, the food prices escalate (Schaefer, Lieberman Riedl 2008).
Severally, the leaders of the G8 industrialized countries meet to discuss the escalating food prices as a result of biofuel. In a meeting held in Hokkaido, the countries discussed the food crisis in the world. They agreed that they would introduce measures that would curb the use of plant-derived fuels. The leaders also stated that they would pressurize the British government so that it can do the same. This is because the British government had played a significant role in raising the prices of food in the country. The World Bank estimates that every time the renewable fuels like biofuels are used, there are rising food prices which push more than one hundred million people to extreme poverty. Biofuels have resulted to successive droughts in Australia. The U.S. drive for biofuels has also had a large impact on the prices of food and its supply (Aditya, 2010).
Biofuels have affected corn production in three major ways. To start with, the corn which could have been used for food has been channeled to the fuel sector. Over a third of the U.S. corn produce has been used to for renewable fuel, mainly the corn ethanol. Additionally, about a half of the vegetable oils in the European Union has been channeled to biodiesel production. Secondly, farmers in the U.S. are encouraged to set aside a part of land for purposes of biofuel. Thirdly, the grain produced by the farmers has had very high prices. This is because of the financial speculations that have been associated with the grains (Aditya, 2010).
From the discussion above, biofuel has made life on earth difficult as far as the food situation is concerned. Since earth is the only planet that sustains life, measures should be undertaken so as to curb the use of renewable fuels. In a bid to prevent the food crisis, the various governments of the world should make sure that there are no restrictions on the exploitation of natural gas and domestic oil reserves. There is no doubt that petroleum will continue being the major fuel for transport for the coming generation. Gas is also important as it has a role to play in the manufacture of fertilizers. Therefore, the U.S. should maximize on the use of gas reserves and petroleum, both offshore and onshore (Schaefer, Lieberman Riedl 2008).
How to curb biofuel effects
It is true that the use of biofuels contribute to the reduction of the greenhouse gases produced by petroleum products. However, the impact of its advantage is not felt, as oil products will continue being the major transport fuel. Therefore, a moratorium on biofuels should be set in all countries of the world. When this is done, there will be no competition between industrialization and agriculture, and food sufficiency will suffice on the earth (Action Aid, 2009).Consequently, the earth would be fit for maintaining the biodiversity.
Global warming
Global warming has always been an issue of discussion on most of the world forums. The recent Copenhagen talks were as a result of the global warming crisis. The Kyoto protocol was revisited in the talks. The Kyoto protocol is an agreement which was made internationally by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The protocol binds thirty seven industrialized countries for the reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions (GHS).The high levels of the greenhouse emissions in the earth are as a result of the one hundred and fifty years of industrial activity by the developed countries (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2010).
A research conducted at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2008 has shown that the global food crisis has been caused by the rising background ozone levels in the atmosphere. It has lowered the yield of important food crops like soybeans and wheat. A specialist in the insect, plant and soil sciences, Professor Manning, stated that plants are more sensitive to the ozone then human beings. Therefore, a slight increase in the exposure of ozone can have an effect on the plants productivity (Science Daily, 2008).
Example on studies on the ozone layer
Several efforts have been made so as to protect the effect of the ozone layer on animals and human beings. However, little has been done to protect the plants from the ozone exposure. According to Professor Manning, there were new standards which were set by the U.S. meant for protecting the human beings. However, the standards were not keen in protecting the life of the plants. Emission controls from vehicles have reduced the short periods of peaks, which refers to high ozone levels. However, the average concentration of ozone in the air throughout the year, which is also referred to as the background level has increased. This happens when polluted atmospheric masses from Asia travel to the U.S., and then back to Europe. According to research, the background levels are expected to increase to eighty four parts per billion by the year 2100 (Science Daily, 2008).
Professor Manning was also involved in researching on how the ozone levels affected the oilseed rate growth. His study was based in the Yangtze delta, China. The results of his study revealed that exposure of the seeds to elevated ozone reduced the weight and the size, or what is known as the biomass of the seeds. The reduction was recorded to be ten to twenty percent. Further studies of the same group revealed that rice was less sensitive to ozone than wheat. Therefore, it revealed that sensitivity to ozone varied, depending on the plants. The most sensitive plant species to ozone are from the cabbage and legume families, which include broccoli, soybeans and radishes (Science Daily, 2008).
Global warming effects in relation to the food crisis
Plants are affected by a gradual increase in the atmospheric temperature levels. Minute shifts in climate changes result to great harm in a number of species. The polar region and mountain plants are the most vulnerable to the effects of global warming. This is because the melting of ice affects the plants as the world becomes warmer than the temperatures that the plants are accustomed to. However, some plants are able to adapt to the situation, but very few can do so (Alyysa, 2010). Plants have their own ways of limiting the damage of ozone for some short periods of time. They do this by reducing the size of their stomata which reduces the uptake of carbon dioxide and ozone. Chronic exposure of plants to the ozone layer leads to reduced photosynthesis and plant yield. Eventually, leaf injury occurs when the ozone taken in is more than what the antioxidants countering the effects can offer (Science Daily, 2008).
Global warming is the cause of the forest fires that occur in various parts of the world as a result of drought and high temperatures. Consequently, there is the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. As temperatures begin to rise, the plants in various areas begin to grow in areas they are not found in. As they try to accustom to the new temperature conditions, the season of their growth is altered as a result of temperature change. Several plants are not able to produce as the temperature rises, therefore causing the plant species to be limited. Global warming affects seasons, thereby affecting the precipitation patterns. The heat waves take a longer time, therefore causing plants to die. The variety of plant species are also harmed by frost days. At this period, the plants are affected by predatory insects (Alyssa, 2010).
The effects of global warming therefore lead to diminishing plant species. This have in turn affected the food production in the world. A chain reaction will be caused by the lack of food. Therefore, there would be no life sustainability for the existing biodiversity. Global warming is a threat to food security. Since the crops will be limited as a result of global warming, their demand will be high. Therefore, there will be an escalation of the food prices in the world (Gregory, Ingram Brklacich, 2010).
The effects of climate change are direct or indirect. There will be an effect to the supply chain infrastructure. All the middlemen involved in supplying the food products will be affected, as the prices of food will be high. For example, in the southern part of Africa, climate is the cause of food insecurity .It acts as a short-lived shock, ongoing or underlying issue. In these regions, there is a low ability of coping with shock (Gregory, Ingram Brklacich, 2010). As a result, the effects of global warming are heavily felt due to the threatened crop growth, most people will rely on purchased food, and those who cannot afford will rely on food aid. When the citizens of a country rely on purchased food and others on aid, there is increased poverty in a region (Gregory, Ingram Brklacich, 2010).
How to tackle the problem of climate change
The different governments should identify and evaluate mechanisms which will reduce vulnerability to climate change. Additionally, governments should identify measures which have been tackled in the past so as to curb the effects of climate change in the world. Other measures like Afforestation should be practiced so as to ensure that the cycle of precipitation is not affected in any way (Gregory, Ingram Brklacich, 2010). According to Mathai (2008), planting of indigenous trees contributes a lot to the preservation and conservation of the local biodiversity, and are an ecological asset. According to her, sustainable agricultural empowerment is the key to survival of human beings on earth. Therefore, she encourages the small scale farmers to practice traditional farming methods as they are less harmful to the environment.
The threats of the earth in relation to its ability to sustain life are mainly the climate change resulting from global warming and biofuel use. They have drastically affected the production of food in the world, thereby causing a crisis. The countries in the world should address theses problems so as to protect our mother earth, and to make her a better place for the living organisms.
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