In the last years, global concerns about the issue of how the world can provide a growing population with sufficient food have attracted increasing attention. Studies suggest that with world population growing up to around 9 billion until 2050, global food production needs to increase by 60 percent to 110 percent. Trends like globalization and urbanization as well as shifting diets will not only influence what kind of food is needed but also how it is produced and distributed.
The food price volatilities in 2007/2008 and again in 2011 revealed the vulnerability of millions of people to hunger. Also, agriculture is a major driver and victim of climate change.
This nexus of concerns – price volatility, environmental damage, population and consumption growth – poses a major challenge to policymakers with regard to food security. There seems to be a common understanding that the way in which food is produced needs to change. The key question for the international community is: How can food security be attained in the future, while at the same time minimizing environmental impacts?
Some claim that the concept of sustainable intensification, which has gained popularity in political and scientific circles in recent years, provides an adequate answer to this question. Support for the concept comes from high-profile papers as well as from policy documents. There are different takes on what sustainable intensification actually means but most approaches agree on the the following premises: food production has to increase; the vast majority of this increase has to come from existing agricultural land; increasing the sustainability of food production is of major importance, a broad range of tools and production methods must be considered to attain these goals.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Food Security in the Light of Climate Change
2.1 The Paradigm of Food Security
2.2 Food Security and Human Development
2.3 Pressures on Global Food Security in the 21st Century
3. Sustainable Intensification
3.1 The Four Premises of Sustainable Intensification
3.2 A Silver Bullet for Food Security?
4. Conclusion
5. Literature
Research Objective and Core Topics
This paper aims to analyze whether the concept of sustainable intensification serves as an adequate response to the challenge of achieving global food security in the context of climate change. It examines the theoretical foundations of the concept, addresses its fundamental premises, and critically evaluates its potential as a comprehensive solution for future food systems.
- The nexus of food security, climate change, and population growth.
- The evolution of the food security paradigm and its relation to human development.
- The four fundamental premises of sustainable intensification and associated controversies.
- Critique of production-oriented versus rights-based food system approaches.
- The debate regarding "silver bullet" solutions versus multi-dimensional strategies.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 A Silver Bullet for Food Security?
Reviewing the debate around sustainable intensification has shown why the concept is such a contested one. Controversies are mainly the result of its general vagueness. This makes it possible for different actors to refer to it. These actors have completely different underlying interests and values, as well as assumptions about the scope of issues that have to be addressed within the food system. This is insofar problematic, as the way the concept is used can be ad odds with the way it was originally conceived and shift away attention from current problems of the global food system.
The first premise, the perceived need to boost food production, is a good example for this phenomenon. While some proponents are very nuanced in their statements about needed yield increases, a crisis narrative like the “perfect storm” can be very powerful and result in a reductionist view on food security. As explored in section 2.1, food security is a multidimensional and complex issue with availability being only one of its pillars. Caution is merited because narratives of resource scarcity that focus on the need for increased production may lack political and social analysis. It is important to emphasize that scarcities are always relative: One’s scarcity can be someone else’s surplus (Cook et al. 2015). On the other hand, it may be dangerous to assume that no increase of production is needed at all. Most experts agree that some increases in yields to meet demand will almost certainly be required particularly in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa (Garnett/Godfray 2012: 14).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter outlines the global challenges concerning food supply for a growing population and introduces the concept of sustainable intensification as a proposed, yet contested, framework.
2. Food Security in the Light of Climate Change: The chapter defines the paradigm of food security, explores its link to human development, and analyzes major pressures such as climate change, urbanization, and demographic shifts.
3. Sustainable Intensification: This section traces the origins of the concept and provides a detailed analysis of its four main premises, including the debates surrounding production increases and environmental sustainability.
4. Conclusion: The summary evaluates whether sustainable intensification constitutes an effective strategy, concluding that it is not a "silver bullet" and necessitates broader, bottom-up approaches.
5. Literature: This section contains the bibliographic references used throughout the study.
Keywords
Sustainable Intensification, Food Security, Climate Change, Human Development, Agricultural Productivity, Food Systems, Sustainability, Resource Scarcity, Food Sovereignty, Global Food Demand, Environmental Impact, Agricultural Practices, Agroecology, Food Waste, Governance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper evaluates the concept of "sustainable intensification" to determine if it is a viable strategy for achieving global food security amidst the pressures of the 21st century and climate change.
What are the primary thematic pillars discussed?
The main themes include the definition and evolution of food security, the intersection of food production and human development, the environmental impacts of modern agriculture, and the debate between productivist and alternative food system visions.
What is the main research question?
The central question is: How can food security be attained in the future while simultaneously minimizing environmental impacts, and is sustainable intensification an adequate answer to this challenge?
Which methodology is employed in this study?
The work utilizes a comprehensive literature review and critical policy analysis to unpack the debate surrounding agricultural transformation and global food system governance.
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The main body breaks down the definition of food security, outlines the pressures (demography, diet, climate change), analyzes the four premises of sustainable intensification, and scrutinizes the controversy behind the "more food" framing.
Which keywords best describe this work?
The most relevant keywords include sustainable intensification, food security, climate change, agricultural productivity, and distributional justice.
What does the author mean by the "perfect storm" scenario?
The term refers to the urgent, combined pressures of population growth, rising consumption, and resource depletion, often cited by proponents of sustainable intensification to argue for rapid increases in food production.
How does the concept of "food sovereignty" challenge sustainable intensification?
Food sovereignty emphasizes local control and democratic decision-making in food systems, whereas critics argue that top-down approaches like sustainable intensification may prioritize corporate interests over the needs of local, disempowered communities.
- Quote paper
- Anonym (Author), 2017, Sustainable Intensification. The Silver Bullet to Achieve Food Security in the 21st Century?, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/428809
