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SUMMARY:Sustainability of Food - Monika Szumilo
DTSTART:20130923T150000Z
DTEND:20130923T160000Z
UID:TALK45508@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Nalin Patel
DESCRIPTION:Winton Scholar Monika Szumilo will host this informal discussi
 on.\n\nAbstract:\nOur current food system is facing major sustainability c
 hallenges. About 65% of the daily water consumption is used for the produc
 tion and processing of food. The Western style diet requires between 7 and
  10 calories of fossil fuel energy to produce 1 calorie of food energy\, w
 hen looking at energy use in the entire food chain. Both water and fossil 
 fuel are likely to become scarce\, in particular in light of the expected 
 growth of the world population from the current 7 billion to 9 billion by 
 2050. Furthermore\, the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers has con
 tributed to environmental pollution and degradation. The focus on high yie
 lding plant varieties and animal breeds has caused massive genetic erosion
 \, due to the disappearance of many diverse populations of crops and anima
 ls maintained by farmers and adapted to local circumstances. In addition\,
  large areas of rainforest\, and concomitantly flora and fauna species\, a
 re disappearing as more land is needed for the production of animal feed a
 nd biofuels. Finally our food system is characterized by diet-related ill-
 health: over 1 billion people are overweight and many suffer from obesity-
 related diseases while also more than 1 billion people suffer from malnutr
 ition and hunger. Lack of resources\, environmental degradation and diet-r
 elated ill-health are just a few of the problems inherent to our food syst
 em. Other issues of concern are for instance food waste\, climate change\,
  soil degradation\, competition over land use and large social inequalitie
 s in access to food.
LOCATION:TCM Seminar room\, 530 Mott
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