2050 and food supply

[me-wonders]

Since there appears to be some interest in our food supply, I think some information from the scientific community might be helpful. Note, if we reduce population growth and little bit, we will have 69 years supply of phosphorus instead of running out in 2050. (I subtracted the year the book was published from 82).

" Every living cell must have two elements, potassium and phosphorus.  Phosphorus tend to get locked in mineral compounds form quite easily instead of freely circulating. Bones and teeth are calcium phosphate. Simply to build the bones of 1.2 billion Chinese takes a lot of phosphorus. It has been suggested that lack of phosphorus accounts for the typically small-bone structure of many Asians. Keeping phosphorus in circulation so that all people can get their needed share is somewhat of a problem already. It may be more so in the future.

Luther Tweeten, Professor of Agriculture Marketing at Ohio State University, at the 1995 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science stated that the world "currently uses about 150 million metric tons of phosphorus rock a year." This use is now increasing at the rate of four percent a year. There is an estimated 34 billion metric tons of phosphate rock in the world reserve. Phosphate is used as fertilizer for almost all food crops and thus into the human system. But if the current usage trend continues, the world's supply of phosphate may be depleted by 2050. If world population growth can be slowed to just one percent annual increase (compared with present 1.7), the phosphate supply would last 82 years. Tweeten further noted that phosphate is a basic building block of plants and for which there is absolutely no substitute." From GeoDestinies by Youngquist.

So we will realize an end to phosphorus in deposits large enough for commercial use and the at same we hit this wall...

The folks on a science forum criticized this link for being too old and not up to scientific standards, so I present the following links as well.

http://dieoff.org/page40.htm

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/80382/food-shortage-may-hit-world.html

http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/12/07/impending-crisis-earth-to-run-out-of-food-by-2050/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100201101901.htm

http://www.baysoundings.com/sum05/phosphate1.html

I seriously worry about the dead zones in the ocean, and that many areas are so over fished, there may not be a return to normal fish populations. While I am not a bible thumper, I think we would be much better off we all practiced allowing our soil, rivers, lakes and oceans a year of rest, every 7th year.

[joshy]

i want my body used for farming just chop me up into fertilizer thats how ill help with the phosphorus shortage. also farmers should start using cemeteries for farm land alot of phosphorus there too.

[ohio traveler]

I imagine that sometime in the future, all of our daily dietary requirements could be compressed into pill form .

Dining on large meals would only be done for entertainment. Not as a necessity.

[DONTEATUS]

with a few billion less mouths to feed we shall have no problems feeding the world.

Thats why were mostlikely on the E.Ts menu of the month !

[ninjadude]

I imagine that sometime in the future, all of our daily dietary requirements could be compressed into pill form .

movie Soylent Green abt. 1978. "Ya gotta tell em. Soylent green is made from people!! "

[me-wonders]

i want my body used for farming just chop me up into fertilizer thats how ill help with the phosphorus shortage. also farmers should start using cemeteries for farm land alot of phosphorus there too.

You are not the first to suggest cemeteries could be a good source of phosphorus. But somehow, when I picture people digging up bones, that is not a pleasant picture. It comes with an uncomfortable feeling of desperation.

What about the dead zones in the ocean and the problem of some areas being over fished? Do we want to pay attention to such things, or just enjoy denial for as long as we can?

[Sylent Nyte]

movie Soylent Green abt. 1978. "Ya gotta tell em. Soylent green is made from people!! "

O RLY? *looks at pill* "Hi, Grandma!" OMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM

[Habitat]

I imagine that sometime in the future, all of our daily dietary requirements could be compressed into pill form .

Dining on large meals would only be done for entertainment. Not as a necessity.

Can't see how. Big fella tummy ache without the food we evolved to process.

[ScienceDominates]

Weird I would notice this thread just after posting this resource to another thread - http://food2050.eu/science-for-a-hungry-planet/

[skookum]

I take it with a pinch of salt. Peak oil, peak water, peak food and now peak fertilizer. Seems we are doomed whatever we do.

[me-wonders]

Simply to build the bones of 1.2 billion Chinese takes a lot of phosphorus. It has been suggested that lack of phosphorus accounts for the typically small-bone structure of many Asians. Keeping phosphorus in circulation so that all people can get their needed share is somewhat of a problem already.

I am glad you know this. I think we can compensate for the phosphorus, better than we can compensate for other shortages. We could crush bones. We can process all manure including human. We can put this stuff into a biochar mix and this would be better for our fields, rivers, and air, than the fertilizer today, but it would be more expensive.

I like the videos on how science is increasing food production, that ScienceDominates posted. I think we can achieve a lot but that still birth control is one of the most important pieces to the extended the good life.

[Habitat]

Buy shares in phosphate miners might be the moral of this story. The days of obtaining phosphate from guano (seabird do-do) are gone, now it's hard rock mining.

[jesspy]

movie Soylent Green abt. 1978. "Ya gotta tell em. Soylent green is made from people!! "

O RLY? *looks at pill* "Hi, Grandma!" OMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM

lol

I take it with a pinch of salt. Peak oil, peak water, peak food and now peak fertilizer. Seems we are doomed whatever we do.

you forgot Peak intelligence

.......OMG!!!...... Peak Chocolate!!!!!!!!!!!