The WFP predicts that by 2023 there will be a shortage of wheat and corn, which are two staple products in the food supply chain. The reports also estimate that these global food shortages will increase food prices and could even trigger a new global recession.
The scale of the current global hunger and malnutrition crisis is enormous, with more than 345 million people facing high levels of food insecurity in 2023 – more than double the number in 2020. This constitutes a staggering rise of 200 million people compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
The world has 60 harvests left. 60 more years of food before our soil quality is diminished to the point of no return. In our zeal to produce more and more food at low cost, we are stripping nutrients from the soil, undermining our future capacity to grow food. We need a plan for a food system that works.
Running out of food - and planet
We are exploiting the Earth's ecosystems beyond their limits and producing more waste than the planet can absorb. We currently overexploit Earth by about 75 percent and will need the equivalent of two planets by 2030 unless major changes are done.
The weather is getting hotter, icebergs are melting and well several animals are getting extinct. Adding to this, scientists have warned us that we just have 27 years until we are out of food completely.
So our diets may be more veg and fruit, whole grains and vegetarian food or new alternatives (soya products, or perhaps insects or artificial meat), and less fried and sugary things. We'll still eat meat, but, perhaps more like our parents and grandparents, see it as a treat to savor every few days.
Unless water use is drastically reduced, severe water shortage will affect the entire planet by 2040. "There will be no water by 2040 if we keep doing what we're doing today".
While our planet as a whole may never run out of water, it's important to remember that clean freshwater is not always available where and when humans need it. In fact, half of the world's freshwater can be found in only six countries. More than a billion people live without enough safe, clean water.
Low-Acid Canned Goods
According to the FSIS, canned foods with a low acid content, like meat, beans, peas, soups, or vegetables (or our favorite, canned tuna), will keep anywhere from two to five years. High-acid canned goods like tomato sauce and canned fruit will keep up to 18 months.
How long you can go without food varies, but it's estimated that one can live for 43 to 70 days before dying from starvation.
Despite our reputation as the “lucky country”, the issue of hunger exists in Australia but is largely unnoticed. The reality is that 3.6 million Australians (15%) have experienced food insecurity at least once in the last 12 months.
The Australian federal government recently began to provide relief, announcing a $16 million bundle to support food relief charities in April 2020. The Australian Defence Force has even been helping pack food at a Foodbank Australia warehouse in Sydney, aiming to combat the upsurge of hunger in Australia.
On the way to 2040, lowering global emissions has meant radically changing our diets, including the balance of protein on Western plates (and for the emerging middle classes globally). We now eat a greater proportion of plant protein and less meat and dairy, produced in ways that have lower environmental impacts.
In Australia, many places are running out of water, but the amount of water on the planet is fixed. We can't actually run out of it. So, we need to understand where we are within the cycle, and how water resources are moving and changing.
Can you drink boiled seawater? No. Boiling seawater does not make it safe to drink because it doesn't remove the salt. Freshwater on the other hand - say from a river - can be boiled to make it safe enough to drink.
Every American should have at least a three-day supply of food and water stored in their home, with at least one gallon of water per person per day. If you have the space, experts recommend a week's supply of food and water. Choose foods that don't require refrigeration and are not high in salt.
Canned foods, pet food and beer may be in short supply due to a widespread aluminum shortage. Lettuce crops and orange groves were affected by plant viruses. One major producer of lettuce lost 80% of their crop in 2022.
By 2050, individuals will be eating cultured, or cultivated, meat, high-protein insects, seaweed, algae, and allergen-free nuts. All of this food is rich in essential vitamins and minerals and high in protein.
The best of the best longevity foods in the Blue Zones diet are leafy greens such as spinach, kale, beet and turnip tops, chard, and collards. In Ikaria more than 75 varieties of edible greens grow like weeds; many contain ten times the polyphenols found in red wine.