The problem is agriculture. The very system that sustains us has become a driver of environmental breakdown. It consumes 70 percent of fresh water, occupies half of all habitable land, generates around a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, and is the primary cause of deforestation and biodiversity loss. With the worldwide population expected to increase by 2 billion by midcentury, demand for food is projected to rise by 50 percent, and protein demand alone is set to double by then, according to the 2017 Food and Agriculture Organization( FAO) of the United Nations report. So how can we produce more food without harming the planet, and where will the funds to support this transition come from?
The Problem With Food
Years of intensive agriculture mean that crops are being planted on exhausted fields; thus, in an ever-growing cycle of decay, farmers use more fertilizer to sustain yields. In his 2022 book Sixty Harvests Left, Philip Lymbery delivers an important message: that humanity’ s food system is careening toward collapse. The title echoes a chilling United Nations warning that, under current industrial farming practices, 90 percent of the Earth’ s topsoil is likely to be at risk by 2050.
Humanity consumes approximately 350 million tons of meat annually. That is equivalent to“ nearly a thousand Empire State Buildings in carcass weight,” according to the book We Are Eating the Earth by Michael Grunwald. Livestock uses nearly 80 percent of agricultural land, yet provides less than 20 percent of global calories. They account for about 32 percent of global methane emissions, while beef production requires more than 15,000 liters of water per kilogram. The environmental cost of meat is disproportionately high. Global demand is rising, and protein production urgently needs innovation.
Intensifying floods, droughts, heat waves, collapsing fisheries, and accelerating species extinction are early signs of systemic stress. Agriculture is at the heart of this crisis. However, if approached differently, agriculture could also be a solution to the increasingly dire threat of climate disaster. The choices made in the coming years will shape not only our food security but also the planet’ s resilience for generations to come.
86 The Trial Lawyer