Human Eating Habits and Food

Human Eating Habits and Food Cultivation for Sustainability

Changes must happen in both human eating habits and food cultivation if the human race is to survive

The paper gives a discussion on the need for change in human eating and food cultivation habits. It is observed that sustainability of the human race and life on the globe is threatened by, the way human beings cultivate and eat. The paper looks at human eating habits and cultivation methods and the extent they strain the earth. The continued expansion of human population is also a concern since there is no extra capacity for the globe to provide given the current depletion of resources. The paper recommends a redirection to consider sustainability and reservation of the globes capacity in the future.

Human Eating Habits and Food Cultivation for Sustainability

At the onset of the 21st century, mankind has come to terms with an advent of new extremes in an effort to exploit resources in the globe. The technological advancements realized in the recent past are powerful to increase global productivity but not sufficient for sustenance. Inevitably, mankind has continued to increase their potential to consume all that is produced thanks the sustainability and growth in population attributive to medical health advancements UNEP, 2010.

There is a concern that given the trend in population and the unmatched expansion in production, the resources within the globe will become insufficient. The human population is slowly eating itself out of the globe.

The trend in insufficiency of the globe to feed the population is already observable with a report by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) indicating close to one billion people are malnourished FAO, 2010.

In the report, it is reviewed that, in every year there are up to six million deaths of children associated with malnourishment FAO, 2010.

This report indicates inadequacy of food leading to malnourish related deaths is partly attributable to the eating habits and food cultivation methods. Human race has embraced new technologies in production with an absolute disregard to the sustainability needs FAO, 2010()

According to Cheng & Timilsina G., 2010()

the world's population is steadily increasing and is expected to reach 9.2 billion people in 2050. On the contrary, agricultural productivity has been slowing down over the last two decades significantly indicating a shortage in the global capacity to sustain population in the world. The rising cases in the number of hunger related deaths today, it is evident that there a lot that needs to be done to meet global demand for food in the coming decade Palupi E., Jayanegara a., & Ploeger a., 2012()

Food production

Looking at the food cultivation methods embraced in the new era of technology we see the constrained conviction that food production is geared towards profit maximization. The farming methods used target to increase per acreage yield as opposed to, providing for the population. This productive/cultivation measure end up depleting the naturally occurring minerals in the soils leaving the portion of land used barren for future use Palupi E. et al., 2012()

Advance use of fertilizers not only puts strain on the soil but, they also damage the ecosystem and atmosphere around the globe. This brings about the global warming effect that essentially increases the severity of drought. There climatic condition experienced with the advent of poor cultivation methods and other human activities is slowly driving human population to extinction Cheng & Timilsina G., 2010()

Food consumption

Water is an essential component in the balance of the ecosystem that mankind has continually thrived from over the years. The average intake of meat products has been on the rise over the past few years. The intake of meat products is seen as the greatest hazard in the human race sustainability both in terms of resource use and the health hazard it has UNEP, 2010()

To produce one tone of fodder, used as food for the meat producing animals, it takes thousands of tonnes. On average, a cow will produce 18 pounds of meat that is sufficient to feed 50 people for less than one week. The amount of water used in production in much higher than the amount of precipitation received annually Richard W. & Kate P., 2009.

This means that water usage in rearing animals for meat is significantly high compared to levels sustainable in the globe. The amount of output produced from the volumes of water used is significantly low. This increasing demand for meat products is highly unsustainable. In the event, that mankind will fully exhaust the renewable and nonrenewable resource just to sustain their eating habits the globe will come to a sudden halt.

The health aspect of consuming meat products by mankind has been seen to be the cause of obesity in the world today. The number of people diagnosed with heart and cardiovascular diseases related to their consumption of meat products is significantly high. Mankind consumption of meat products has also been blamed to coarse shortened lifespan. The continued existence of mankind the globe is slowly coming to an end Bank, 2007.