Dr. Even Fraser continues to raise awareness of food crisis with online videos
The world is predicted to have a population of nine billion people by the year 2050, up roughly two billion from the current total.
The magnitude of this increase will require that significant changes be made if humans hope to successfully adapt to rising demands on the planet’s resources. One of the most important issues associated with an increasing population is food security, and it is an issue Dr. Evan Fraser of the U of G’s Department of Geography is tackling head-on with the “Feeding 9 Billion” project, a think tank composed of academics and students that also focuses on promoting public understanding.
The Feeding 9 Billion project explores both small-scale and large-scale strategies for producing and distributing enough food to avert a global food crisis, a problem that Fraser predicts is going to be one of the world’s most pressing over the next 50 years. The project draws attention to these strategies by producing informative and easily understandable YouTube videos that highlight some of the big problems, and then examines some of the most promising solutions.
The Feeding 9 Billion website got off the ground approximately 15 months ago when Fraser uploaded the first video, which featured his own voice over dynamic whiteboard illustrations. After this, Fraser and his team published several articles and essays, and the project has expanded from there, receiving funding from Canada’s Social Science and Humanities Research Council. The team is now in the process of releasing a new series of videos.
The project contends that a global food crisis is likely to be the result of a combination of factors: namely the rising global population, resource depleting production methods, and increasing global food costs, which some scientists estimate will result in a need for 50 per cent more food by 2050.
In order to meet this demand, Fraser endorses a strategy that focuses on improvements in four key areas: technology and research, distribution, local food systems, and government regulation.
While technology is an important part of increasing crop yields, Feeding 9 Billion stops short of advocating scientific advancement as a one-size-fits-all solution. Key to the group’s philosophy is a focus on small-scale change, namely local and low-tech solutions. Fraser notes that biotechnology can have significant problems and, as such, we should first aim to make small changes where we can. Fraser states that these can have an enormous impact.
These changes would largely occur through the development and improvement of local food systems. These systems can take the form of farmer’s markets, local campaigns, and so forth.
“We need to reinvest heavily in local food systems,” said Fraser. “Not because they’re going to feed everybody all the time, but because they provide a buffer against the problems of the global food market.”
Through the development and continual improvement of local food systems, individuals can successfully reduce the distance between the producers and consumers of food. Furthermore, local food systems can reduce the dependence on multinational corporations, which, while they are important distributers of food, are also massive consumers of resources.
Fraser also states that there are important ways every individual can contribute to creating a solution. He says students can “eat a bit less meat, eat a bit more local, volunteer at a food bank, things like that. If everyone makes small changes in their daily lives, it can make a huge difference.”