Securing global food supplies with limited resources - Lessons from the past

Miina Porkka

Securing global food supplies with limited resources - Lessons from the past

Julkaisun otsikon käännös: Maailman ruoan turvaaminen rajallisin resurssein: historiallinen katsaus

Miina Porkka

Tutkimustuotos: Doctoral Thesis › Collection of Articles

Abstrakti

Ihmiskunnan kyky tuottaa riittävästi ravintoa kasvavan väestön tarpeisiin on puhuttanut jo vuosisatojen ajan. Kasvun ylläpitämiseksi planeettamme rajallisia luonnonvaroja on hyödynnetty yhä laajemmin, mikä on lisännyt ruoantuotantoon tarvittavien maa- ja vesiresurssien niukkuutta. Tämä kilpajuoksu oli huomattavaa erityisesti 1900-luvun loppupuoliskolla, jonka aikana sekä maailman väkiluku että ruoantuotanto yli kaksinkertaistuivat. Yhä kasvavan väestön tarpeiden tyydyttämiseksi ruoantuotannon täytyisi jälleen kaksinkertaistua vuoteen 2050 mennessä. Ihmiskunnan kyky vastata aiempiin haasteisiin on ollut merkittävää, joten menneisyyden tutkiminen ja siitä oppiminen voivat tarjota avaimia tulevaisuuden haasteiden ratkaisuun. Tämä väitöskirja tutkii resurssien niukkuuden ja maataloustuotteiden kaupan vaikutusta ruoan saatavuuteen maailmanlaajuisesti. Tutkimus keskittyy vihreän vallankumouksen jälkeiseen aikaan, 1961–2009, jolloin väestö, ruoantuotanto ja maailmankauppa kasvoivat räjähdysmäisesti. Historiallinen tarkastelu pyrkii tunnistamaan erilaisia olosuhteita ja strategioita, joilla riittävät ruokavarastot pystytään turvaamaan, ja toisaalta esteitä, jotka hankaloittavat tätä tavoitetta. Työn globaali kehys tarjoaa kattavan yleiskuvan aiheesta ja luo perustan yksityiskohtaisemmille paikallisille tutkimuksille. Väitöskirja osoitti, että ruoan saatavuus parani tutkimusjaksolla merkittävästi. Tämä oli suurelta osin resurssien käytön tehostumisen ja sitä seuranneen lisääntyneen ruoantuotannon ansiota. Lisäksi kasvava maailmankauppa edisti ruokavarastojen tasaisempaa jakautumista. Ruoantuotantoon käytettävien resurssien niukkuus lisääntyi huomattavasti väestöpaineen kasvaessa. Ruoan tuontia onkin käytetty lähes poikkeuksetta apuna näillä resurssipulasta kärsivillä alueilla. Noin 60 % resurssien niukkuutta kokevasta väestöstä elää alueilla, joilla riittävä ruoan tarjonta on mahdollistettu tuonnilla. Maailmankaupan vaikutus ruoan saatavuuteen on yleisesti ottaen positiivinen, mutta tietyissä tapauksissa liiallinen vedenkulutus vientihyödykkeiden tuotannossa voi myös lisätä vesiniukkuutta. Ruokaturvan saavuttaminen tulevaisuudessa vaatii useita samanaikaisia toimia. Lisääntyvän maailmankaupan tueksi tarvitaan toimia, joilla voidaan vähentää verkoston haavoittuvuutta ja kehittää kauppapolitiikkaa. Tietyillä alueilla ruoantuotantoa voitaisiin vielä lisätä kehittämällä viljelykäytäntöjä kestävän tehostamisen periaatteiden mukaisesti. Kulutustottumuksia tulee myös muuttaa kestävämpään suuntaan esimerkiksi lihansyöntiä ja ruokajätettä vähentämällä, jotta paine lisätä ruoantuotantoa vähenisi. Näiden keinojen lisäksi ruokaturvan saavuttaminen vaatii myös ratkaisuja tasa-arvon ja oikeudenmukaisuuden lisäämiseksi maailmassa.

Julkaisun otsikon käännös	Maailman ruoan turvaaminen rajallisin resurssein: historiallinen katsaus
Alkuperäiskieli	Englanti
Pätevyys	Tohtorintutkinto
Myöntävä instituutio	Aalto-yliopisto
Valvoja/neuvonantaja	Kummu, Matti, Vastuuprofessori Siebert, Stefan, Ohjaaja, Ulkoinen henkilö Varis, Olli, Ohjaaja
Kustantaja	Aalto University
Painoksen ISBN	978-952-60-7146-6
Sähköinen ISBN	978-952-60-7145-9
Tila	Julkaistu - 2016
OKM-julkaisutyyppi	G5 Artikkeliväitöskirja

Tutkimusalat

ruoan saatavuus
resurssien niukkuus
vesipula
maailmankauppa
globaali tutkimus

YK:n kestävän kehityksen tavoitteet

Tämä tuotos edistää seuraavia kestävän kehityksen tavoitteita:

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http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-60-7145-9Lisenssi: Määrittelemätön

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title = "Securing global food supplies with limited resources - Lessons from the past",

abstract = "Humanity's ability to sufficiently feed the growing population has been under debate for centuries. To sustain the growth, we have had to push the boundaries of our planet, which has increased the scarcity of land and water resources needed for food production. This race was notable particularly during the latter half of the 20th century, when both the world population and food production more than doubled. To meet future demand, food production would once again have to double by the year 2050. Humanity's responsiveness has been remarkable in the past, thus to gain insights into where and how we can improve in the future, there is much we can learn from the past. This dissertation examines the effect of resource scarcity and agricultural trade on food availability globally. Temporal focus is on the time period after the green revolution, 1961–2009, during which population, agricultural production and global trade all exploded. By focusing on the historical context, the dissertation aims to identify different conditions and strategies for securing local food supply and, on the other hand, barriers that hinder this goal. The global framing of the research provides a comprehensive overview of the issue, building foundations on detailed, more localized studies. The dissertation found that food availability improved considerably in most regions within the study period. Much of this development can be credited to increased food production through improvements in resource use efficiency, while rapidly increased global trade has also helped to distribute global food supply more evenly. Resource scarcity in food production has increased notably with intensifying population pressure. It was found that food imports have nearly universally been used cope with these local resource limitations. Currently about 60 % of the population experiencing resources scarcity lives in areas where adequate food supply has been made possible with food imports. Despite the generally positive effects of trade in terms of food availability, in some water scarce regions, excessive water consumption in production of goods for export may increase water scarcity. Achieving future food security will require many overlapping measures. The likely increases in food trade will need to be accompanied with efforts to reduce the vulnerability of the network and improve trade policies. On the supply side, sustainable intensification of agriculture could increase food production in regions where full potential has not been reached yet. Sustainable consumption patterns, such as eating less animal based food and reducing food waste, are needed to reduce food demand. Ultimately, achieving future food security will also require solutions to improve social justice and equity.",

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N2 - Humanity's ability to sufficiently feed the growing population has been under debate for centuries. To sustain the growth, we have had to push the boundaries of our planet, which has increased the scarcity of land and water resources needed for food production. This race was notable particularly during the latter half of the 20th century, when both the world population and food production more than doubled. To meet future demand, food production would once again have to double by the year 2050. Humanity's responsiveness has been remarkable in the past, thus to gain insights into where and how we can improve in the future, there is much we can learn from the past. This dissertation examines the effect of resource scarcity and agricultural trade on food availability globally. Temporal focus is on the time period after the green revolution, 1961–2009, during which population, agricultural production and global trade all exploded. By focusing on the historical context, the dissertation aims to identify different conditions and strategies for securing local food supply and, on the other hand, barriers that hinder this goal. The global framing of the research provides a comprehensive overview of the issue, building foundations on detailed, more localized studies. The dissertation found that food availability improved considerably in most regions within the study period. Much of this development can be credited to increased food production through improvements in resource use efficiency, while rapidly increased global trade has also helped to distribute global food supply more evenly. Resource scarcity in food production has increased notably with intensifying population pressure. It was found that food imports have nearly universally been used cope with these local resource limitations. Currently about 60 % of the population experiencing resources scarcity lives in areas where adequate food supply has been made possible with food imports. Despite the generally positive effects of trade in terms of food availability, in some water scarce regions, excessive water consumption in production of goods for export may increase water scarcity. Achieving future food security will require many overlapping measures. The likely increases in food trade will need to be accompanied with efforts to reduce the vulnerability of the network and improve trade policies. On the supply side, sustainable intensification of agriculture could increase food production in regions where full potential has not been reached yet. Sustainable consumption patterns, such as eating less animal based food and reducing food waste, are needed to reduce food demand. Ultimately, achieving future food security will also require solutions to improve social justice and equity.

AB - Humanity's ability to sufficiently feed the growing population has been under debate for centuries. To sustain the growth, we have had to push the boundaries of our planet, which has increased the scarcity of land and water resources needed for food production. This race was notable particularly during the latter half of the 20th century, when both the world population and food production more than doubled. To meet future demand, food production would once again have to double by the year 2050. Humanity's responsiveness has been remarkable in the past, thus to gain insights into where and how we can improve in the future, there is much we can learn from the past. This dissertation examines the effect of resource scarcity and agricultural trade on food availability globally. Temporal focus is on the time period after the green revolution, 1961–2009, during which population, agricultural production and global trade all exploded. By focusing on the historical context, the dissertation aims to identify different conditions and strategies for securing local food supply and, on the other hand, barriers that hinder this goal. The global framing of the research provides a comprehensive overview of the issue, building foundations on detailed, more localized studies. The dissertation found that food availability improved considerably in most regions within the study period. Much of this development can be credited to increased food production through improvements in resource use efficiency, while rapidly increased global trade has also helped to distribute global food supply more evenly. Resource scarcity in food production has increased notably with intensifying population pressure. It was found that food imports have nearly universally been used cope with these local resource limitations. Currently about 60 % of the population experiencing resources scarcity lives in areas where adequate food supply has been made possible with food imports. Despite the generally positive effects of trade in terms of food availability, in some water scarce regions, excessive water consumption in production of goods for export may increase water scarcity. Achieving future food security will require many overlapping measures. The likely increases in food trade will need to be accompanied with efforts to reduce the vulnerability of the network and improve trade policies. On the supply side, sustainable intensification of agriculture could increase food production in regions where full potential has not been reached yet. Sustainable consumption patterns, such as eating less animal based food and reducing food waste, are needed to reduce food demand. Ultimately, achieving future food security will also require solutions to improve social justice and equity.

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KW - global research

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KW - agricultural trade

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T3 - Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS

PB - Aalto University

ER -

Securing global food supplies with limited resources - Lessons from the past

Abstrakti

Tutkimusalat

YK:n kestävän kehityksen tavoitteet

Pääsy asiakirjaan

Sormenjälki

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