Food production is related to the people, the produce and the entire system involved in providing food to the people. According to the website Cargill, its safety, in terms of maintaining a check and balance on its production, the involvement of science and technology in food and the treatment of food for its consumption by the people are all questions that are pertinent to the current food system. (Cargill). The nation’s food system needs to be made safer because of the possible challenges it may face such as dealing with food shortage and availability, the structure of the food chain and the ways in which it can be improved for this year and the ones to come.
There are certain basic issues confronting it. Based on the website Grace, food safety and security is one of the biggest problems that are being faced worldwide. (Grace). The same goes for even the most developed of nations because the food system is concerned with imports and exports and if the balance of food is disturbed anywhere anyplace then it can cause serious long-term problems.
Also, as cited in Food Safety Magazine, for example, 17.4 million homes in America were food insecure in 2014. Also, food insecurity exists in every county in the States. (Ades et al.,). And like TNW News reports, food systems need to be made secure by implementing solutions for this year that can be followed for the years to come. (Maffeo).
Moreover, the population is also a concern. Inherency happens to be the main issue whereby there are going to be more mouths to feed all over the world and even in the nation itself. According to statistics are given by Food Security, 70% more food will be needed to feed an additional 2.3 billion people in the world. (Food Security). As Arnot of Food Safety Magazine writes, this will lead to the usage of more resources needed by farmers to produce food which will eventually lead to the exhaustion of land as well as resources. (Arnot).
Likewise, Munang quotes in The Guardian, currently, the attitude towards is changing but only so only on the basis of genetically modified foods. 25% of the corn today is grown with GMOs, and the production of soybean has increased by 20%. (Munang). In order to transcend cultures and to help the nation understand the dilemma, the issue needs to be discussed proactively and openly. Based on the website Civil Eats, GM seeds are banned in Europe and parts of Africa and are non-existent in developing countries. (Cernansky).
Additionally, several measures need to be taken to confront the issue. The industries need to produce food that may be genetically modified yet tested to be safe for consumption by the people. For example, genetically modified species of cotton and tobacco have proven successful. According to an article in The Guardian, the same can go for other foods which can be more nutritious and can save resources as well such as protein, pulses, etc. (Schiffman).
Biotechnology will provide the time and space for natural food production, thus preventing any scarcity or danger of shortage in the short term. For instance, the website Union of Concerned Scientists writes that the government can hold crop area fixed for a period of time. (Stillerman).
Conclusively, the food system can be secured for the year by realizing the intensity of the situation. Moreover, it is important that the issue of land use and production of the crop is analyzed. The cultural and structural setup of food distribution must be in check. Solutions involve switching to biotechnological methods of production, leadership addressing issues openly and reserving land for production in the future.
Work Cited
Ades, Gary, Leith, Ken, Leith, Patti. “Food safety culture: Insurance against catastrophe.” Food
safety magazine. 2014. Web. 20 Feb 2016.
Arnot, Charlie. “When consumers and science collide.” Food Safety Magazine. 2015. Web. 20
Feb 2016.
Cargill. “Food security.” 2016. Web. 20 Feb 2016.
Cernansky, Rachel. “5 food systems lessons the U.S can learn from Denmark.” Civil eats. 22
Jan 2016. Web. 20 Feb 2016.
Ferdman, A. Roberto. “Why a top food poisoning expert won’t ever eat these foods.” The
Washington Post. 2 Feb 2016. Web. 20 Feb 2016.
Food Security. “Global Food Security strategic plan.” 2013. Web. 20 Feb 2016.
Grace. “Food security and food access.” 2016. Web. 20 Feb 2016.
Maffeo, Lauren. “How technology gave us free food in large quantities and why it needs to
stop.” TNW News. 2012. Web. 20 Feb 2016.
Munang, Richard. “Ecological methods can help solve food security issues.” The Guardian. 2013. Web. 20 Feb,
2016.
Schiffman, Richard. “GMOs aren’t the problem. Our industrial food system is.” The Guardian.
2013. Web. 20 Feb 2016.
Stillerman, Perry. Karen. “Can changes in our food system help make Americans healthier.”
Union of Concerned Scientists. 2013. Web. 20 Feb 2016.
