Swedish ecologist: 'Food production cycle needs rethink'

[webfact]

SWEDISH ECOLOGIST
'Food production cycle needs rethink'
THIRANAT SUCHARIKUL
THE NATION



Rundgren explains the need for change in consumption habits

BANGKOK: -- OUR WORLD is not sustainable, so people should change the way they consume in order to mitigate this growing problem, Swedish ecological thinker Gunnar Rundgren told environmental enthusiasts in Bangkok ahead of World Environment Day yesterday.

The former president of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements gave a speech on Wednesday on problems of sustainability in the agricultural sector, offering his interpretation of how people can lessen this growing concern.

There are various ways to create change, for example, by paying attention to food production and consumption and changing the worldview.

A change in the food system would be a good starting point.

Ideas such as encouraging diversity and local food consumption could help reduce resources wasted in the initial process.

Attention to a regenerative food system via cooperation and co-production instead of competition and markets could also help. And the integration of food and culture such as community-supported agriculture could also be beneficial.

Consumption was an idea deeply rooted in society but consumers were not the only ones responsible for change. It was a combination of lifestyle changes by people and by implementation of state policies.

"People in the city see resources but do not see the faces of the |small people…because people living in the city don't see so much the effect of nature and what we are doing and on the lifestyle we are having," he said.

The way people live today wasn't sustainable. To assuage problems of unsustainability, better attention on the agricultural sector was needed.

"Farming is not only about food but also about how we manage the planet. If people are not encouraged to take care of the planet, they will not do it," he said.

Energy resources taking a toll

The energy resources used to facilitate industrial production had taken a toll on the environment. Energy extracted from fossil fuels, water and soil exacerbated the environmental crisis.

Increasing productivity of modern agriculture had resulted in challenges such as shrinking biodiversity, destabilised global cycles through the emission of carbon, release of chemicals and depletion of important minerals and resources.

Many assumed that nature and the environment were abstract but this also affected people. And it was unrealistic to think that a single farmer could compete with large industries.

Society's crisis was deepening because people were in constant search for cheaper alternatives to yield larger production.

If natural resources continued to be over-extracted for people, as they were now, later generations would have to pay a price for this.

"Farming is the management of the planet. We must ensure that all areas within the agriculture sector are properly managed," he said.


-- The Nation 2014-06-06

[BSJ]

Over population in the 3rd world is the problem.

A lot of areas in Africa have been destroyed by the people that live there.

SE Asia has some problems but I don't see a Sahara desert forming anytime soon!

[Somtamnication]

Too late. We are doomed within the next 500 years.

But, can he let us shaved head guys tell know how to sustain our hair follicles?

[cdmtdm]

Over population in the 3rd world is the problem.

A lot of areas in Africa have been destroyed by the people that live there.

SE Asia has some problems but I don't see a Sahara desert forming anytime soon!

are your serious ?

[SABloke]

Over population in the 3rd world is the problem.

A lot of areas in Africa have been destroyed by the people that live there.

SE Asia has some problems but I don't see a Sahara desert forming anytime soon!

The first 2 letters of your id. I put more thought into breathing than you've put into your post. Take some time to research where food is produced and where it ends up on a plate. Overpopulation and excessive consumption...of 1st World nations might also be a factor. Sure, Japan and the UK are self sufficient. Right

[zaphod reborn]

People have been spouting this nonsense for hundreds of years now, even credible scientists like Malthus. So far, technology seems to keep up with these pressures. We get the conservation thing, but no need to go looney.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[UbonRatch]

What on earth has this directly got to do with Thailand, in caring for agricultural land, fossil fuel usage and local food consumption?

There is neither reference to Thailand nor recommendations for action.

Thin on news this morning?

[englishoak]

Itll be just fine.. man will have an epiphany and save the world..... ok maybe not.

[jonclark]

Go vegetarian - eat from a lower trophic level and there is more than enough food and other resources to go around - 1 pound of beef requires 2500 galleons of water to produce over the life of the cow (includes water to grow the food to feed to the cow) - kinda makes the water wastage during Songkran pail into insignificance.

[Bluespunk]

Over population in the 3rd world is the problem.

A lot of areas in Africa have been destroyed by the people that live there.

SE Asia has some problems but I don't see a Sahara desert forming anytime soon!

are your serious ?

Unfortunately I think he is.

[Bluespunk]

People have been spouting this nonsense for hundreds of years now, even credible scientists like Malthus. So far, technology seems to keep up with these pressures. We get the conservation thing, but no need to go looney.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

"The energy resources used to facilitate industrial production had taken a toll on the environment. Energy extracted from fossil fuels, water and soil exacerbated the environmental crisis.

Increasing productivity of modern agriculture had resulted in challenges such as shrinking biodiversity, destabilised global cycles through the emission of carbon, release of chemicals and depletion of important minerals and resources."

As technology now appears to be part of the problem, going "looney" might be just what we do need to do.

[chooka]

isn't a large quantity of the food produced on the planet just simply thrown away to rot?

[chooka]

Go vegetarian - eat from a lower trophic level and there is more than enough food and other resources to go around - 1 pound of beef requires 2500 galleons of water to produce over the life of the cow (includes water to grow the food to feed to the cow) - kinda makes the water wastage during Songkran pail into insignificance.

I was born a flesh eating carnivore and will die one. wipe it's a#se, knock the horns off and throw it on my plate. Yum Yum.

[chainarong]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

People have been spouting this nonsense for hundreds of years now, even credible scientists like Malthus. So far, technology seems to keep up with these pressures. We get the conservation thing, but no need to go looney.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

That is so , but what happens when technology either fails or is a no show , complacency, is resting on success the right approach.

[chainarong]

I think the key wording here is, Farming and how we farm , that is the important message, all the rest Is how I talk after a slab of Leo, the management of the ground is an important factor in determining the very future of farming and the environment , as a US spokesman said at a farmers meeting in OZ (1990) if you need to put heaps of fertilizer in the ground, then it wasn't worth farming in the first place.

[chainarong]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

isn't a large quantity of the food produced on the planet just simply thrown away to rot?

Yeah it is Chooka , but harnessing that and shipping to the area's that need it , is more expensive than my new Bentley.

[noitom]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

What on earth has this directly got to do with Thailand, in caring for agricultural land, fossil fuel usage and local food consumption?

There is neither reference to Thailand nor recommendations for action.

Thin on news this morning? width=32 alt=coffee1.gif>

Good Point. This is conspicuous as "filler" Thai news.

[GentlemanJim]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Go vegetarian - eat from a lower trophic level and there is more than enough food and other resources to go around - 1 pound of beef requires 2500 galleons of water to produce over the life of the cow (includes water to grow the food to feed to the cow) - kinda makes the water wastage during Songkran pail into insignificance.

I was born a flesh eating carnivore and will die one. wipe it's a#se, knock the horns off and throw it on my plate. Yum Yum.

Actually, I don't want to pi** on your party or be pedantic, but you were'nt. Much as I also like a BBQ and a nice steak, Humans were never born as carnivores. We do not have the teeth for it and we do not have the gut for it. It is just science (biology) and just the way it is. Our intestinal tract in particular is not that of a meat eating species. Meat causes our 'species' massive problems in terms of heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes , our stomach acid is no where near strong enough to cope with eating raw meat and the intestinal tract does not eject it quick enough, therefore it rots and causes havoc with our system.

We have a carbohydrate enzyme based digestive system. If you were a born carnivore you would pick up and smell the delights of a piece of 4 day old road kill and eat it as eagerly as you would a handful of strawberry's picked off a bush, and your teeth and fingers would be designed to do the job without the need for mining iron ore, smelting it down and making knives. So roast beef and yorkshire puds.....love it but don't kid yourself, the benefits are only psychological, it is learned behaviour and not natural and it does us a lot of harm. Despite knowing that, meat eating is addictive enough for me to partake but saying humans are natural meat eaters is like saying they are natural smokers.

The guy in the OP raises valid points but what is the solution? Population is now growing far quicker than ideas and implementation of strategies to cope with what will become the worlds biggest problem....no food. no fresh water. I will be fortunate enough to see my time out with relative comfort in terms of food availability but I do not see the same luxury for my grand children and theirs.

Most people have zero idea about anything to do with food production and one of the reasons we took to eating meat was that it was the only way to comfortably survive in areas where the land was so mean in giving up it's fruits. Humans were permanently hungry and permanently foraging until we got the idea that sticking a large dead animal on the table saved a lot of walking, stooping and berry picking. We are destined to have demand outstrip possible supply and the subsequent war, conflict, disease and starvation that will ensue may just put us back to a point of balance with the planet if we are lucky, if not then extinction will result. To be manageable all the experts say a population of around 500 million is perfect for the planet........now go and research as to how the likes of Bill Gates and his Father and quite a few others see that as a mission to aim for Got to go, bacon, sausage and egg sarnie is just done

[GentlemanJim]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

What on earth has this directly got to do with Thailand, in caring for agricultural land, fossil fuel usage and local food consumption?

There is neither reference to Thailand nor recommendations for action.

Thin on news this morning? width=32 alt=coffee1.gif>

Good Point. This is conspicuous as "filler" Thai news.

Why can't you two just either learn and contribute to something that is a fundamental human survival issue that needs thinking about on a truly global scale, or just 'turn the page' go past and move on without wasting all the electricity required to create the 0's and 1's that make up your non contributory replies? There are simply loads more topics on the forum to satisfy your restrictive requirements.

[Ulic]

Over population in the 3rd world is the problem.

A lot of areas in Africa have been destroyed by the people that live there.

SE Asia has some problems but I don't see a Sahara desert forming anytime soon!

The first 2 letters of your id. I put more thought into breathing than you've put into your post. Take some time to research where food is produced and where it ends up on a plate. Overpopulation and excessive consumption...of 1st World nations might also be a factor. Sure, Japan and the UK are self sufficient. Right

While I understand where you are coming from the population of the western countries is negative without immigration. The answer really

is birth control. End this "go forth and multiply" BS of many religions. When third world populations immigrate to western countries they

too become massive consumers.

[NeverSure]

"Attention to a regenerative food system via cooperation and co-production instead of competition and markets could also help. And the integration of food and culture such as community-supported agriculture could also be beneficial."

Read that twice. He's a communist.

"Sweden. The Hub breadbasket of the world."

[kuiburi]

Looks like a highly intelligent bloke to me ,

His haircut remembers me of Albert Einstein

[Daniel Boon]

Too late. We are doomed within the next 500 years.

But, can he let us shaved head guys tell know how to sustain our hair follicles?

less than 50 years, closer to 5 years ...

[Daniel Boon]

"Attention to a regenerative food system via cooperation and co-production instead of competition and markets could also help. And the integration of food and culture such as community-supported agriculture could also be beneficial."

Read that twice. He's a communist.

"Sweden. The Hub breadbasket of the world."

do you really understand the words 'regenerative'; cooperation, co-production and community supported agriculture'?

regenerative = to try to replace nutrients (depleted by crops) in soil after harvesting [aka (also known as fertilizing; familiar with it?]

cooperation = where a farmer co-owns harvesting machinery (to reduce costs / maximize return on machinery investments)

co-production = where share crop farming helps and or complementary crops rather then competitive crops are grown

community supported agriculture = buying locally grown foods over imports (not like in Australia, where fruit and vegetable farmers have to plow crops back into the ground because the two dominant retailers buy poorer quality food from overseas)

check under you bed every morning do you?

[Daniel Boon]

It is early days, but I am looking to teach a diploma subject in sustainability at a university in Thailand.

Not to be confused with the speciously titled 'sustainable development' ... more using the U-PODS concept of self-sufficiency.

If things go according to plans, the said University will also design energy efficient houses through the associated department covering the sustainability diploma.

[chooka]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Go vegetarian - eat from a lower trophic level and there is more than enough food and other resources to go around - 1 pound of beef requires 2500 galleons of water to produce over the life of the cow (includes water to grow the food to feed to the cow) - kinda makes the water wastage during Songkran pail into insignificance.

I was born a flesh eating carnivore and will die one. wipe it's a#se, knock the horns off and throw it on my plate. Yum Yum.

Actually, I don't want to pi** on your party or be pedantic, but you were'nt. Much as I also like a BBQ and a nice steak, Humans were never born as carnivores. We do not have the teeth for it and we do not have the gut for it. It is just science (biology) and just the way it is. Our intestinal tract in particular is not that of a meat eating species. Meat causes our 'species' massive problems in terms of heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes , our stomach acid is no where near strong enough to cope with eating raw meat and the intestinal tract does not eject it quick enough, therefore it rots and causes havoc with our system.

We have a carbohydrate enzyme based digestive system. If you were a born carnivore you would pick up and smell the delights of a piece of 4 day old road kill and eat it as eagerly as you would a handful of strawberry's picked off a bush, and your teeth and fingers would be designed to do the job without the need for mining iron ore, smelting it down and making knives. So roast beef and yorkshire puds.....love it but don't kid yourself, the benefits are only psychological, it is learned behaviour and not natural and it does us a lot of harm. Despite knowing that, meat eating is addictive enough for me to partake but saying humans are natural meat eaters is like saying they are natural smokers.

The guy in the OP raises valid points but what is the solution? Population is now growing far quicker than ideas and implementation of strategies to cope with what will become the worlds biggest problem....no food. no fresh water. I will be fortunate enough to see my time out with relative comfort in terms of food availability but I do not see the same luxury for my grand children and theirs.

Most people have zero idea about anything to do with food production and one of the reasons we took to eating meat was that it was the only way to comfortably survive in areas where the land was so mean in giving up it's fruits. Humans were permanently hungry and permanently foraging until we got the idea that sticking a large dead animal on the table saved a lot of walking, stooping and berry picking. We are destined to have demand outstrip possible supply and the subsequent war, conflict, disease and starvation that will ensue may just put us back to a point of balance with the planet if we are lucky, if not then extinction will result. To be manageable all the experts say a population of around 500 million is perfect for the planet........now go and research as to how the likes of Bill Gates and his Father and quite a few others see that as a mission to aim for Got to go, bacon, sausage and egg sarnie is just done

Damn I know I am not a vampire so what am I doing with these bloody incisors and canines. let me tear into a piece of flesh any day over a lousy lettuce leaf. I have teeth for ripping apart flesh and I will use them.

[NeverSure]

"Attention to a regenerative food system via cooperation and co-production instead of competition and markets could also help. And the integration of food and culture such as community-supported agriculture could also be beneficial."

Read that twice. He's a communist.

"Sweden. The Hub breadbasket of the world."

do you really understand the words 'regenerative'; cooperation, co-production and community supported agriculture'?

regenerative = to try to replace nutrients (depleted by crops) in soil after harvesting [aka (also known as fertilizing; familiar with it?]

cooperation = where a farmer co-owns harvesting machinery (to reduce costs / maximize return on machinery investments)

co-production = where share crop farming helps and or complementary crops rather then competitive crops are grown

community supported agriculture = buying locally grown foods over imports (not like in Australia, where fruit and vegetable farmers have to plow crops back into the ground because the two dominant retailers buy poorer quality food from overseas)

check under you bed every morning do you?

Do you understand the not so subtle "via cooperation and co-production instead of competition and markets." ??

If you want hunger, take out competition and markets. That's what doomed the former Soviet Union and so many other communist countries.

[DonThaiToMe]

Over population in the 3rd world is the problem.

A lot of areas in Africa have been destroyed by the people that live there.

SE Asia has some problems but I don't see a Sahara desert forming anytime soon!

Africa is one of the least populated continents in the world smarty-pants... (Not counting the north and south poles)

The Gobi desert in China is the fastest growing desert by far...

I´m getting more and more amazed how un-educadet people are by the minute...

[Daniel Boon]

People have been spouting this nonsense for hundreds of years now, even credible scientists like Malthus. So far, technology seems to keep up with these pressures. We get the conservation thing, but no need to go looney.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

technology not 'keeping up' ... when the 'green revolution' happened; more rice was grown than could be eaten; however, as with everywhere, the population grew to the production and has now surpassed it ... its one of the reasons that refugee numbers keep climbing ... the carrying capacity of populated areas is soon overrun ...

if a beaker containing organisms doubles every year and the beaker is quarter full, how long before it is full?

[Daniel Boon]

What on earth has this directly got to do with Thailand, in caring for agricultural land, fossil fuel usage and local food consumption?

There is neither reference to Thailand nor recommendations for action.

Thin on news this morning?

Everything ... most Thai's get their food from outside their living environment ... if agricultural land is not correctly managed and fuel prices increase, so too does the cost to buy (and work longer hours), therefore, locally produced food is best (practice) ... you understand?