Experts predict that we may suffer an unprecedented global food shortage as early as 2050. This is in contrast with claims that the problem is purely distributive. Between 2005 and 2008, food prices rose on average by 80% (FAO), outpacing even the Soviet grain emergency of 1972-75, when world food prices rose by 78%. By mid-2009, thirty-three countries around the world were facing either 'alarming' or 'extremely alarming' food shortages, and an increasing number of conflicts are caused by food and water scarcity as opposed to political or ethnic tensions.
This exploratory project aims to dive into aggregate food data to better understand global supply and demand. Specifically, it aims to tackle the following questions:
- Are the claims of global food shortages by 2050 true? What evidence is there for this claim?
- Where does our food supply come from? What are the likely production possibilities in the near future and what are the constraints?
- Where does food demand come from? (Home, commercial, industrial, feed, biofuels?)