Global food security/GFS101/Population, Hunger, Inequality/population

Population

What is being to emerge hopefully is questions over how to ensure global food security bring together two broad concerns that may attract conflicting assumptions, values & interests.

Increased production and innovation, based on improved science and technology (efficiency, objectivity, universality), economic development (capitalism, free market, economic growth), and a unified, global food system.

Increased equity and diversity, based on fairer distribution of food, fairer access to food production resources (agricultural land, fisheries, seeds, intellectual property…), and local diversity of economic and cultural systems.

This then begs the question whether 1) and 2) have to be mutually exclusive?

Lecture 1

In making an argument for the nonexclusivity of competing concerns outlined above, in the next lecture, Aidan begins by discussing global population change over time and its geography.

****REPLACE VIDEO CONTENT - XBR103Week4Video1EDITED*****

REPLACE

Think and Share

After watching the previous lecture brainstorm the following questions:

1. Why is the human population growing?

Please direct your self to the Discussion Board titled: Activity 7: Population, Hunger, Inequality so that other students can engage with your response. Feel free to comment on other posts as it will help you with your own thinking.

Student Responses 1

After you have done the activity above have a listen to some of the answers from other students.

Topic: Student responses on why the human population is growing.

Lecture 2

In the next lecture, Aidan further expands on why populations change by focusing on why in some countries the rate of population growth is declining. He outlines the basis to arguments that see modernisation of economies as a solution to stemming population growth within the developing world. In doing so he highlights why certain developing countries remain in what demographers call the 'demographic trap' of high birth rates and low death rate and why generally developed countries may have escaped it. (For more information on factors which contribute to demographic vulnerability please see the Population Institute's 2015 publication called 'Demographic Vulnerability: Where population growth poses the greatest challenges'.). The remaining part of the lecture Aidan gives focus to the rate of global population growth and whether it has peaked and finishes with a potent philosophical imaginary for securing food security into the future.

****REPLACE VIDEO CONTENT - XBR103Week4Video2EDITED*****

REPLACE

Think and Share

After watching the previous lecture brainstorm the following questions:

Reflect on the following statement:

"Today’s human population is too large to be sustained by the planet”

Write down at least 2 reasons that justify your response.

Please direct your self to the Discussion Board titled: Activity 8: Population, Hunger, Inequality so that other students can engage with your response. Feel free to comment on other posts as it will help you with your own thinking.