Food scarcity is an issue that many of us, who are mostly youngsters in developed or developing countries, have not paid sufficient attention to for many years. However, it is the main cause of famine and malnutrition which have taken lives of millions of people in quite a few places on Earth, especially those in Africa or desiccated areas. How come? The key reason obviously lies in natural conditions which we have all known for years. Desert is the main topography in Africa because its specific shape and location in the world map makes the whole continent overly exposed to the sun and receive less wind from the oceans so growing plants and raising animals is an impossible task there, except for in some oasis or places near or on river banks. However, the role of technology in agriculture is propelling so it will be somehow justified to say that the lack of appropriate agricultural technologies or failing to applying such technologies are also amounting to the food shortage in Africa. Most people there do not have access to education so they face many difficulties in making use of new technologies to enhance the productivity of their crops.
There were several thought-provoking issues to be discussed in class. The first one was which one between growing food and growing energy resources on unoccupied yet arable lands should be treasured more. Can energy be grown? Yes, metaphorically. Solar energy, wind energy and hydropower are the three prevailing types of renewable sources of energy that can be formed via solar batteries, wind turbines or water turbines respectively. Obviously, wind turbines have been set up on empty lands in a myriad of places around the world, and so are solar batteries and water turbines.
The role of energy is downright crucial since is the key factor determine whether a country can gain sustainable development or not. But can the yields reaped from mass “production” of renewable energy sources out-value those from food production? Food shortage, as I mentioned above, is killing people, though not many, around the world, and it is a sin if humans ignore the lives of others being at risk. Thus, I believe arable land should rather be used for farming purposes.
Urbanization, which is squeezing countryside lands, was also an issue raised in the session. The consequences are dire. First and foremost, the plunge in the size of rural arable lands as a result rural areas being urbanized definitely dwindle the amount of meat and wheat-foods and aggravate the food shortage in many places globally. Additionally, the influx of people into cities as a result of urbanization or the unpreparedness of rural people in familiarizing themselves with urban life may lay some burdens on governments, such as unemployment or disparity between the rich and poor being extended. The former result is quite straightforward since people in rural areas rarely have chances to be well educated so when they either move to the city or have the neighbourhood converted in to cities, they usually lose in the competition with city-born workers, which are far more educated than them.
Farmist was a new term that Prof introduced to the class in this session. Old-schooled or traditional farmers are just those who merely use obsolete and out-of-dated tools and methods to farm and are mostly uneducated. Farmists, on the other hand, are those who are taught and trained to specializing in what they do, in this case, farming and to apply the best technologies and approaches so as to yield best results. Luckily, farmers nowadays are transforming themselves into farmists thanks to the advance of education in countries as well as changes in the mind-sets of people. Under this issue, one question arises in my head: In which ways do farmers transform themselves into farmists?
One of the presentations in this session was about GM beef and had opened my eyes greatly. Firstly, I haven’t been aware of the fact that there are a lot of steps in the process of turning a cow into edible slices of beef. Secondly and most importantly, the beef, one of the most consumed meat, is all from genetically modified cows to some extent. The cows either eat, or more precisely, are stuffed, GM foods or have their genes modified. As we all know, scientists have launched thousands of debates and discussions about whether GM foods are harmful to human health or not, and a pretty high percentage of them are against GM foods. This fact places the consumers on the fences: will they trade their lives for savoury yet potentially toxic beef dishes?
“There’s enough on this planet for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed.”
Mahatma Gandhi
This saying perfectly reflects the crux of every issue in this session. Food and Energy nowadays are more than enough for the entire human race to use annually. However, some countries, especially developed ones such as America or Western European countries, are keeping for themselves and using more energy and food. Along with innovating the way people farm or discovering, researching on and making use of new sources of energy, redistribution of such commodities should also be implemented to not only help humankind to achieve sustainable development but also bring about equity in our lives.
Rating: 8/10. Two points are missing because the stress of exams I have to deal with this week is crushing my attention at times.
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