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Feeding 10 billion People without Eating Earth

We share Earth with more than 8 billion brothers and sisters today. By the time you are my age there will be another 2 billion people coming to dinner. Humanity will be more prosperous than at any time in history, so these folks will want to eat more meat, fresh vegetables, and fruit. Most estimates are that we will need to increase current food production by 50% in 40 years. How do we feed 10 billion people in 40 years when we already use more than 70 percent of Earth’s land for food, feed, fiber and fuel production? Do we expand production on new lands? If so, what happens to the wildlife that live there? If not, how do we increase food production on existing farmland? This intensification has costs, especially fertilizers and pesticides. How do we increase food production without increasing water use? Currently we use more than 70% of global fresh water for agriculture production. It is often said that if climate change is a shark, water is its teeth. Freshwater demand across the planet is going to limit all human activities, especially agriculture. Feeding humanity without eating Earth is the challenge for this generation.

Speaker Marty Matlock, a professor in the University of Arkansas Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, presents this year's lecture.

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