Dear MEL Topic Readers,
World 'faces 80% calorie increase by end of
century'
Half a century ago, there were about 3.7
billion humans walking on the planet. The population doubled by 2016 and today,
there are about 7.8 billion people living in the world. As the average fertility
rate keeps rising from today’s 2.47 to 2.95 in the next three decades, two billion
more people will be eating everyday meals in 2050. That’s a 25% increase from now.
Though the rate of increase is expected to slow down, one billion more stomachs
will be added by the end of the century, bringing the total population to 11
billion. The majority of the increase will come from Africa, whose population is
expected to grow from today’s 1.3 billion to 4.3 billion in 2100. Furthermore,
as people become taller and heavier, their stomachs become larger and more demanding,
meaning they need higher calories to survive. Recently, some researchers estimated
that around 250 more calories are needed in one’s daily diet in the future.
Will the world be able to feed that many more
stomachs if the size of cultivable land doesn’t expand accordingly? Will agricultural
productivity improve more than the rate of population increase? Will people have
no choice but to depend on junk food only to fill their stomachs in Africa? What
if global warming deteriorates food production?
Enjoy reading the article and think about how
humans, their cattle and birds, and fish will survive to the next century.
p.s. If you’re interested in a population update of the world and by country, check this out. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/
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