Oil, Food and the Coming Crisis in Agriculture

Paarlberg, R. (2008). The ethics of modern agriculture. Society. Vol. 46 (1) 4-8.

This is one of the few works that directly addresses the topic, where the author outlines the utilitarian calculus of modern agriculture as the basis for analyzing its ethics. There have been dramatic positive changes from modern agriculture techniques, he notes, at least in the short run. The author notes that there is a sort of apparent conflict in warning others not to make the same mistakes that we have made, even as we continue to make the same mistakes, and reap the economic rewards of those mistakes. On one hand, we are not wrong to caution others, on the other hand, we are unwilling to follow our own good advice. The factory mentality of today’s farms has given rise to a number of ethical dilemmas, and this arises most clearly with the case of meat. We eat far more than we need to, yet it is the most wasteful and cruel element of the agricultural system. The author uses these examples and others to sum up the ethical dilemmas faced by modern agriculture, which has boosted short run productivity, but at significant costs that are typically hidden from the consumer.

Pfeiffer, D .(2011). Eating Fossil Fuels: Oil, Food and the Coming Crisis in Agriculture. New Society Publishes: Gabriola Island, BC.

This book outlines the role that fossil fuels play in the modern agricultural system. The author notes that much of modern production increases owes itself to fossil fuels, and that as our supply thereof runs low, we will find it difficult to sustain our current levels of food production. This is not even taking into account climate change, which will further challenge our abilities to feed ourselves. The author uses a number of examples to highlight the challenges that will be faced when our agricultural system — so dependent on fossil fuels — no longer has access to those inputs. The book provides some interesting background information and argument about this subject.

Rice, J. & Garcia, S. (2011). Fisheries, food security, climate change, and biodiversity: characteristics of the sector and perspectives on emerging issues. ICES Journal of Marine Science. Vol. 68 (6) 1343-1353.

This article examines the coming world to 2050, including projections for population growth, climate change, fisheries and food production. The authors note that to meet projections, fisheries production needs to increase by 50%, something that is unsustainable. This is an interesting perspective on the issue, because this is one area where there might have been potential to maintain food production in the face of declining agriculture, but it appears that it will be unsustainable or outright impossible to do so. The authors also note that experts on these different subjects tend to operate in silos, when they should be working with each other to solve these problems, with more urgency.

Rosset, P. (2011). Food sovereignty and alternative paradigms to confront land grabbing and the food and climate crises. Development Vol. 54 (2010) 21-30.

The author begins with the proposition that, if we are not facing it already, the world will be facing a multitude of different crises simultaneously in the near future. A paradigm shift, he argues, is necessary, in order to meet these crises head on. The author makes an interesting point, and perhaps points to a resolution of the ethical dilemma at the heart of the article. The ethical dilemma is focused on our inability to resolve the people or environment battle, but the other argues that is a false dilemma; that in fact it is possible to find new paradigms of living where there is better balance.

Neff, R., Chan, I. & Smith, K. (2008). Yesterday’s dinner, tomorrow’s weather, today’s news? U.S. newspaper coverage of food system contributions to climate change. Public Health & Nutrition. Retrieved April 22, 2015 from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.365.4857&rep=rep1&type=pdf

This article begins with the proposition that our food is a contributor to climate change, something that has broad-based scientific acceptance. The authors surveyed newspapers over a period of time to identify how much press the issue of food’s contribution to climate change has received. The thinking is that people are more likely to change their behaviors if they are educated, and the press plays a critical role in that education. The authors found low levels of coverage, but that the levels of coverage were increasing gradually, over time.

Khor, M. (2009). The Food Crisis, Climate Change and the Importance of Sustainable Agriculture. Third World Network: Penang, Malaysia.

This short work highlights the need for sustainable agricultural practices, in particular those that do not rely on fossil fuels. Eventually, unsustainable practices collapse, so therefore it is important for agriculture to sustainably feed a population. Thus, it is important for scientists to focus their energies on sustainable agriculture, rather than on squeezing out incremental gains from the existing system. This again is framed as a paradigm shift, in particular towards developing food security.

Rosenzweig, C. & Perry, M . (1994) Potential impact of climate change on world food supply. Nature. Vol. 367 (13 Jan 1994) 133-138.

This article looks at the threat that climate change poses to the food supply. This is an important piece of information because it reflects the outcome of the dilemma — our current paradigm is something that puts millions at risk, so there is clearly a cost to the “do nothing” option of pursuing short-term gain. The authors note that the impact of climate change on global agricultural output is not expected to be significant — or at least back then — and that it would be felt mainly in the developing world. This piece is a bit dated on the science, but it is interesting because it shows that this has been talked about for a long time, and that there are going to be impacts from climate change on our ability to feed ourselves.

Outline

Introduction

Provide outline of topic

Background info

Thesis statement

Overview of the Issue

The world has a growing population

Agriculture resources are not growing and if anything are shrinking

The increase in agriculture output has been driven by technology

Fossil fuels play a critical role in the global food system

As these become more scarce, they will be unable to play that role

This puts the entire food system at risk

The Dilemma

The crux of the dilemmas is that we need to choose between feeding people today and the health of the planet tomorrow

This is a dilemma because people will die either way; there is no good answer

Utilitarian calculus is difficult to conduct, but we have historically chosen the short-term — is that the right choice?

Possible Solutions

Are there solutions available within the current paradigm?

Or is a paradigm shift needed?

Sustainable agriculture is that paradigm.

There has been work on this to help change the system enough that the ethical dilemma no longer exists.

References

Paarlberg, R. (2008). The ethics of modern agriculture. Society. Vol. 46 (1) 4-8.

Pfeiffer, D .(2011). Eating Fossil Fuels: Oil, Food and the Coming Crisis in Agriculture. New Society Publishes: Gabriola Island, BC.

Rosset, P. (2011). Food sovereignty and alternative paradigms to confront land grabbing and the food and climate crises. Development Vol. 54 (2010) 21-30.

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