Lec 24: Global Food Systems

Question 1

What caused the global food price rise?

Answer 1

Oil prices (cost of agriculture; biofuels)
Adverse weather
Trade shocks (export bans, hoarding, panic buying
Covid

Question 2

What were the consequences of the global food price rise?

Answer 2

⚫ Undernourishment and impoverishment
⚫ Food riots and revolt
⚫ Greater policy attention

Question 3

Is agricultural an oil intensive activity?

Answer 3

yes

Question 4

What are drivers of food demand?

Answer 4

population increase

dietary transition
- tubers –> cereals
- plants –> meat (livestock revolution)

change in food retailing

Question 5

What are the sources of and trends in agricultural growth?

Answer 5

sources of growth:
- new land
- intensification (more input = more output)
- increased total factor productivity (TFP) (optimization, increased efficiency)

trends in growth:
extensification –> intensification –> TFP

Question 6

What are the 5 challenges for global agriculture?

Answer 6

1) Increase crop yields and reduce the yield gap
2) Climate change and crop yields
3) dietary change
4) food waste
5) world agricultural trade

Question 7

describe crop yields and closing the yield gap.
What are the causes (including technical causes) of yield gaps?

Answer 7

crop yield growth is peaking

yield gap: what could be produced - what is actually being produced

causes of yield gaps:
- not using all suitable land
- land that is being used it not achieving potential yields

technical causes of yield gaps:
- lack of financing, poorly functioning markets, technical restraints

Question 8

describe the “climate change and crop yields” challenge

Answer 8

general consensus that climate change will negatively affect agriculture

rising temp will affect productivity of cereals (esp. wheat and corn)

don’t know how negatively changing precipitation will affect crops

Question 9

describe the dietary change challenge

Answer 9

3) Dietary change
- Inefficiency in our diet due to livestock
- If we used crops to feed humans instead of livestock we could potentially feed an additional 4 billion people
- World is moving towards increased demand for meat, dairy, and biofuels

Question 10

describe the food waste challenge

Answer 10

4) Food Waste
- Waste 30-40% of food produced globally
- Very different in industrialized vs developing countries
○ Developing: come from farm, transportation and processing
○ Industrialized: home and municipal losses
- = lost water and GHG emissions
- In future: recycling for livestock feed or energy production

Question 11

where does food waste come from in indsutrialized countries vs developing countries?

Answer 11

○ Developing: come from farm, transportation and processing
○ Industrialized: home and municipal losses

Question 12

Why is there little global trade in food, even though it would result in lower food prices?

Answer 12

• to protect markets
• exposes us to vulnerability in supply of food