"Food Experts Worry as World Population and Hunger Grow"

While reading this article, I found it very interesting to see how many people are not able to eat on a daily basis. The article stated, "the number of hungry people in the world rose to 1.02 billion this year, or nearly one in seven." To me, this number was astounding. It seems crazy how many people live day to day wondering if they will get enough food for them and their families while we sit here eating whatever and whenever we please. The article goes on to say, "the resources and techinical knowledge were available to increase food production by 50 percent in 2030 and by 70 percent in 2050 - the amounts needed to feed a population expected to grow to 9.1 billion in 40 years." With a growing population like ours, we all need to make more of an effort to change our ways and help others realize the impact we are having. We need to build awareness among our nation and spread what we are learning, teaching people how to change our impact for the better. Although there are ways of producing food at this measure, it is degrading our land at a substantial rate and we cannot replenish the land quick enough. There has been many failed efforts in the past to change world hunger and these still lurk around, waiting for the next victim. The article further explains, "the so-called green revolution of the 1960s and 70s ended the specter of mass famines then, but the environmental cost of chemical fertilizers and heavy irrigation has spurred a bitter divide over the right ingredients for a second one." Although we are trying to solve the problem of world hunger, we are not going about it in a sustainable manner. We need to find a way to grow produce at a rate quicker than we currently are, but without degrading the land with the fertilizers and other damaging effects.

Something else the article points out is the land used to make more biofuels. The article explains with the more crop land used for biofuels, "as scores of food riots in 2008 showed, oil prices and other income shocks can quickly drive millions more people into hunger, sending ripples of instability around the world." Yes, we are trying to lower our ecological footprint by using biofuels, it is actually having a detrimental effect on the land and the people around it. The idea behing biofuels is really smart and could work really well, we are just going about it all wrong and not considering all of the side effects, both good and bad. We need to come up with a way of creating more sustainable products whose production does not have such a detrimental effect on the earth itself.

Looking at this and thinking about my ecological footprint, it made me realize how detremental we are on the earth. Although everyone has an impact, I believe the United States itself has the largest impact and we are bar far the most wastefull country there is. When you look at how much we each and how little everyone else does, you can't help but think about everyone else. We throw away leftovers constantly without regards, but there are people across the world wondering when their next meal will be. This article has made me realize how impactful I am on the earth and how I really need to make more of a concious effort to change my habits.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/world/22food.html?_r=1&hp