Trends in Global Agricultural Land Use: Implications for Environmental Health and Food Security
Navin Ramankutty,Zia Mehrabi,Katharina Waha,Larissa Jarvis,Claire Kremen,Mario Herrero,Loren H. Rieseberg +6 more
Reads0
Chats0
TLDR
Both the successes and failures of the global food system are reviewed, addressing ongoing debates on pathways to environmental health and food security and calling on plant biologists to lead this effort and help steer humanity toward a safe operating space for agriculture.Abstract:
The eighteenth-century Malthusian prediction of population growth outstripping food production has not yet come to bear. Unprecedented agricultural land expansions since 1700, and technological innovations that began in the 1930s, have enabled more calorie production per capita than was ever available before in history. This remarkable success, however, has come at a great cost. Agriculture is a major cause of global environmental degradation. Malnutrition persists among large sections of the population, and a new epidemic of obesity is on the rise. We review both the successes and failures of the global food system, addressing ongoing debates on pathways to environmental health and food security. To deal with these challenges, a new coordinated research program blending modern breeding with agro-ecological methods is needed. We call on plant biologists to lead this effort and help steer humanity toward a safe operating space for agriculture.read more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Six transformations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
Jeffrey D. Sachs,Guido Schmidt-Traub,Mariana Mazzucato,Dirk Messner,Nebojsa Nakicenovic,Johan Rockström +5 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors introduce six SDG Transformations as modular building-blocks of SDG achievement: education, gender and inequality; health, well-being and demography; energy decarbonization and sustainable industry; sustainable food, land, water and oceans; sustainable cities and communities; and digital revolution for sustainable development.
Journal ArticleDOI
Landscapes that work for biodiversity and people
TL;DR: Biodiversity-based techniques can be used to manage most human-modified lands as “working landscapes” and ensure that the production of food, fiber, fuel, and timber can be sustained over the long run and be more resilient to extreme events.
Journal ArticleDOI
Defining and combating antibiotic resistance from One Health and Global Health perspectives
TL;DR: This Review provides updated information on the elements involved in the evolution and spread of antibiotic resistance at local and global levels, and proposes studies to be performed and strategies to be followed that may help reduce the burden of antibiotics resistance as well as its impact on human and planetary health.
Posted Content
Land sparing versus land sharing: Moving forward
Jörn Fischer,David J. Abson,Van Butsic,Van Butsic,M. Jahi Chappell,M. Jahi Chappell,Johan Ekroos,Jan Hanspach,Tobias Kuemmerle,Henrik G. Smith,Henrik von Wehrden +10 more
TL;DR: In this paper, a framework has been proposed that distinguishes between the integration (land sharing) and separation (land sparing) of conservation and production of commodity production to address the challenges of biodiversity conservation and commodity production.
Journal ArticleDOI
Agricultural diversification promotes multiple ecosystem services without compromising yield
Giovanni Tamburini,Giovanni Tamburini,Riccardo Bommarco,Thomas C. Wanger,Thomas C. Wanger,Claire Kremen,Claire Kremen,Marcel G. A. van der Heijden,Matt Liebman,Sara Hallin +9 more
TL;DR: Overall, diversification enhances biodiversity, pollination, pest control, nutrient cycling, soil fertility, and water regulation without compromising crop yields and shows promise to contribute to biodiversity conservation and food security from local to global scales.
References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet
Will Steffen,Will Steffen,Katherine Richardson,Johan Rockström,Sarah Cornell,Ingo Fetzer,Elena M. Bennett,Reinette Biggs,Reinette Biggs,Stephen R. Carpenter,Wim de Vries,Cynthia A. de Wit,Carl Folke,Carl Folke,Dieter Gerten,Jens Heinke,Jens Heinke,Jens Heinke,Georgina M. Mace,Linn Persson,Veerabhadran Ramanathan,Veerabhadran Ramanathan,Belinda Reyers,Belinda Reyers,Sverker Sörlin +24 more
TL;DR: An updated and extended analysis of the planetary boundary (PB) framework and identifies levels of anthropogenic perturbations below which the risk of destabilization of the Earth system (ES) is likely to remain low—a “safe operating space” for global societal development.
Journal ArticleDOI
Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices
David Tilman,Kenneth G. Cassman,Pamela A. Matson,Pamela A. Matson,Rosamond L. Naylor,Stephen Polasky +5 more
TL;DR: A doubling in global food demand projected for the next 50 years poses huge challenges for the sustainability both of food production and of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and the services they provide to society.
Journal ArticleDOI
Solutions for a cultivated planet
Jonathan A. Foley,Navin Ramankutty,Kate A. Brauman,E. S. Cassidy,James S. Gerber,M. Johnston,Nathaniel D. Mueller,Christine S. O’Connell,Deepak K. Ray,Paul C. West,Christian Balzer,Elena M. Bennett,Stephen R. Carpenter,Jason Hill,Chad Monfreda,Stephen Polasky,Johan Rockström,John Sheehan,Stefan Siebert,David Tilman,David P. M. Zaks +20 more
TL;DR: It is shown that tremendous progress could be made by halting agricultural expansion, closing ‘yield gaps’ on underperforming lands, increasing cropping efficiency, shifting diets and reducing waste, which could double food production while greatly reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture.
Journal ArticleDOI
Human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle: sources and consequences
Peter M. Vitousek,John D. Aber,Robert W. Howarth,Gene E. Likens,Pamela A. Matson,David W. Schindler,William H. Schlesinger,David Tilman +7 more
TL;DR: In this article, a review of available scientific evidence shows that human alterations of the nitrogen cycle have approximately doubled the rate of nitrogen input into the terrestrial nitrogen cycle, with these rates still increasing; increased concentrations of the potent greenhouse gas N 2O globally, and increased concentration of other oxides of nitrogen that drive the formation of photochemical smog over large regions of Earth.
Journal ArticleDOI
Nonpoint pollution of surface waters with phosphorus and nitrogen
Stephen R. Carpenter,Nina F. Caraco,David L. Correll,Robert W. Howarth,Andrew N. Sharpley,Val H. Smith +5 more
TL;DR: In this article, a review of the available scientific information, they are confident that nonpoint pollution of surface waters with P and N could be reduced by reducing surplus nutrient flows in agricultural systems and processes, reducing agricultural and urban runoff by diverse methods, and reducing N emissions from fossil fuel burning, but rates of recovery are highly variable among water bodies.
Related Papers (5)
Solutions for a cultivated planet
Jonathan A. Foley,Navin Ramankutty,Kate A. Brauman,E. S. Cassidy,James S. Gerber,M. Johnston,Nathaniel D. Mueller,Christine S. O’Connell,Deepak K. Ray,Paul C. West,Christian Balzer,Elena M. Bennett,Stephen R. Carpenter,Jason Hill,Chad Monfreda,Stephen Polasky,Johan Rockström,John Sheehan,Stefan Siebert,David Tilman,David P. M. Zaks +20 more
Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet
Will Steffen,Will Steffen,Katherine Richardson,Johan Rockström,Sarah Cornell,Ingo Fetzer,Elena M. Bennett,Reinette Biggs,Reinette Biggs,Stephen R. Carpenter,Wim de Vries,Cynthia A. de Wit,Carl Folke,Carl Folke,Dieter Gerten,Jens Heinke,Jens Heinke,Jens Heinke,Georgina M. Mace,Linn Persson,Veerabhadran Ramanathan,Veerabhadran Ramanathan,Belinda Reyers,Belinda Reyers,Sverker Sörlin +24 more
Global Consequences of Land Use
Jonathan A. Foley,Ruth DeFries,Gregory P. Asner,Carol C. Barford,Gordon B. Bonan,Stephen R. Carpenter,F. Stuart Chapin,Michael T. Coe,Michael T. Coe,Gretchen C. Daily,Holly K. Gibbs,Joseph H. Helkowski,Tracey Holloway,Erica A. Howard,Christopher J. Kucharik,Chad Monfreda,Jonathan A. Patz,I. Colin Prentice,Navin Ramankutty,Peter K. Snyder +19 more