Will Feeding the World Kill the Planet?
Duration: 53 mins 45 secs
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| Description: | Four speakers present their views on how we can feed the growing global population and whether available options will harm the planet. This explores the role of science in solving the world food crisis. |
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| Created: | 2009-01-12 22:59 |
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| Collection: |
Chemical Society
Science in Society |
| Publisher: | University of Cambridge |
| Copyright: | H.M. Price |
| Language: | eng (English) |
| Distribution: |
World
(downloadable)
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| Keywords: | panel debate; food; world; planet; science; society; Chemical; Society; |
| Categories: |
iTunes - Science |
| Explicit content: | No |
| Abstract: | 854 million people across the planet are currently facing food shortages and malnutrition; amid spiralling food prices and an expanding world population, this figure can only rise unless we can increase crop yields to match the growing demand. However, productivity gains following the Green Revolution are now levelling out and concern is growing about the role of intensive farming methods in accelerating climate change. Can we look again to technological innovation to raise agricultural outputs, or have we reached the limits of production?
The speakers include: Caroline Hurford, London spokesperson for the World Food Programme; Dr Malcolm Hawkesford, senior researcher into crop nutrition at the Rothamsted Agricultural Research Centre; Dr Peter Craufurd, from the School of Agriculture Policy and Development at Reading University; Dr Howard Griffiths, member of the Cambridge University Plant Sciences department and the Cambridge Environmental Initiative. |
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