Unsustainable groundwater use for global food production and related international trade

Non-technical summary Most of the water humans consume is for agriculture. Rapidly increasing water demand has led to overexploitation of water resources in many important food-producing regions. In particular, growing groundwater-based irrigation causes potentially damaging depletion. Food systems are increasingly globalized, leading to large export-oriented production. Much research has focused on quantifying the amount of water resources embedded in traded products, but less attention has been given to the role of groundwater use and the related sustainability of agriculture globally. We assess current knowledge of virtual water trade in light of groundwater use and sustainability and highlight remaining challenges in this field.

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The Role of Latin America’s Land and Water Resources for Global Food Security: Environmental Trade-Offs of Future Food Production Pathways

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0116733 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. e0116733 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Insa Flachsbarth ◽

Bárbara Willaarts ◽

Hua Xie ◽

Gauthier Pitois ◽

Nathaniel D. Mueller ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Water Resources ◽

Food Production ◽

Global Food Security ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Global Food

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Food security in the 21st century and in the role of biotechnology

foresight ◽

10.1108/14636689910802304 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 1 (5) ◽

pp. 399-412 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Per Pinstrup‐Andersen ◽

Marc J. Cohen

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Food Security ◽

Food Production ◽

Supply Side ◽

Adequate Diet ◽

The World ◽

Productivity Gains ◽

Global Population ◽

Global Food

Although global food production has consistently kept pace with population growth, the gap between food production and demand in certain parts of the world is likely to remain. More than 800 million people in developing countries lack access to a minimally adequate diet. Continued productivity gains are essential on the supply side, because global population will increase by 73 million people a year over the next two decades. In this article we assess the current global food situation, look at the prospects through to the year 2020, and outline the policies needed to achieve food security for all. Emphasis is on the role that agricultural biotechnology might play in reaching this goal.

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A food crime perspective

A Handbook of Food Crime ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447336013.003.0002 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 11-26

Author(s):

Allison Gray

Keyword(s):

Food Production ◽

Food Systems ◽

Critical Criminology ◽

Green Criminology ◽

Criminal Behaviour ◽

Social Harm ◽

Global Food

A food crime perspective involves an evaluation of the (lack of) criminal, legal, and regulatory organisation, and the insufficient, ineffective, or lack of enforcement, which surrounds the criminal behaviour and social harms produced within systems of food production, processing, marketing, distribution, selling, consumption, and disposal, victimising (often simultaneously) humans, animals, and the environment. Married to a social harm approach, and grounded in the views of critical criminology, green criminology, and radical victimology, a food crime perspective problematises the practices and contexts of food systems as immoral, harmful, and criminal. This chapter introduces this concept of a food crime perspective in three parts. First, it recognises the study of food must be contextualised in contemporary global food systems. Second, it situates a food crime perspective among other (sub)theories of criminology. Finally, it concludes with an argument why it is important to think criminologically about food.

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Global effects of local food-production crises: a virtual water perspective

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/srep18803 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Stefania Tamea ◽

Francesco Laio ◽

Luca Ridolfi

Keyword(s):

International Trade ◽

Water Resources ◽

Food Production ◽

Local Food ◽

Virtual Water ◽

Temporal Analysis ◽

Propagation Model ◽

Virtual Displacement ◽

Local Food Production ◽

Global Water

Abstract By importing food and agricultural goods, countries cope with the heterogeneous global water distribution and often rely on water resources available abroad. The virtual displacement of the water used to produce such goods (known as virtual water) connects together, in a global water system, all countries participating to the international trade network. Local food-production crises, having social, economic or environmental origin, propagate in this network, modifying the virtual water trade and perturbing local and global food availability, quantified in terms of virtual water. We analyze here the possible effects of local crises by developing a new propagation model, parsimonious but grounded on data-based and statistically-verified assumptions, whose effectiveness is proved on the Argentinean crisis in 2008–09. The model serves as the basis to propose indicators of crisis impact and country vulnerability to external food-production crises, which highlight that countries with largest water resources have the highest impact on the international trade and that not only water-scarce but also wealthy and globalized countries are among the most vulnerable to external crises. The temporal analysis reveals that global average vulnerability has increased over time and that stronger effects of crises are now found in countries with low food (and water) availability.

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Role of Virtual Water in Optimizing Water Resources Management in Jordan

Water Resources Management ◽

10.1007/s11269-012-0116-z ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 26 (14) ◽

pp. 3977-3993 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Taleb M. Abu-Sharar ◽

Emad K. Al-Karablieh ◽

Munther J. Haddadin

Keyword(s):

Water Resources ◽

Water Resources Management ◽

Virtual Water ◽

Resources Management

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Four key reasons why climate change adaptation and mitigation need a gendered approach

Exchanges The Interdisciplinary Research Journal ◽

10.31273/eirj.v2i1.105 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 145-152 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Carla Sarrouy ◽

Carla Sarrouy

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Food Systems ◽

Climate Change Mitigation ◽

Extreme Weather Events ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

Weather Events ◽

Global Food ◽

Change Mitigation ◽

Adaptation And Mitigation

Climate change is having a growing impact on every human activity, especially on agriculture with altered rainfall patterns and an increased number and intensity of extreme weather events. This article argues that efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change must consider whole food systems – rather than the sole production of food – whilst embracing a conscious gendered approach. Women are the main victims of hunger, but they are also the main actors of global food systems, they greatly contribute to their household’s and community’s wellbeing and detain a rich and often untapped knowledge of food systems. Promoting the role of women in our global food systems enhances the inclusion of criteria mainly valued by women such as resilience, diversity and nutrition, which are paramount for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Photo credit: By OxFam East Africa [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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Seafood in Food Security: A Call for Bridging the Terrestrial-Aquatic Divide

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems ◽

10.3389/fsufs.2021.703152 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Author(s):

Stacia Stetkiewicz ◽

Rachel A. Norman ◽

Edward Hugh Allison ◽

Neil L. Andrew ◽

Gulshan Ara ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Production Systems ◽

Interdisciplinary Approach ◽

Plant Production ◽

Relative Role ◽

Global Food Security ◽

Global Food

The contribution of seafood to global food security is being increasingly highlighted in policy. However, the extent to which such claims are supported in the current food security literature is unclear. This review assesses the extent to which seafood is represented in the recent food security literature, both individually and from a food systems perspective, in combination with terrestrially-based production systems. The results demonstrate that seafood remains under-researched compared to the role of terrestrial animal and plant production in food security. Furthermore, seafood and terrestrial production remain siloed, with very few papers addressing the combined contribution or relations between terrestrial and aquatic systems. We conclude that far more attention is needed to the specific and relative role of seafood in global food security and call for the integration of seafood in a wider interdisciplinary approach to global food system research.

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Overcoming undesirable resilience in the global food system

Global Sustainability ◽

10.1017/sus.2018.9 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Tom H. Oliver ◽

Emily Boyd ◽

Kelvin Balcombe ◽

Tim G. Benton ◽

James M. Bullock ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Production ◽

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Well Being ◽

Academic Disciplines ◽

Global Food System ◽

Major Reform ◽

Lock In ◽

Global Food

Non-technical summaryOur current global food system – from food production to consumption, including manufacture, packaging, transport, retail and associated businesses – is responsible for extensive negative social and environmental impacts which threaten the long-term well-being of society. This has led to increasing calls from science–policy organizations for major reform and transformation of the global food system. However, our knowledge regarding food system transformations is fragmented and this is hindering the development of co-ordinated solutions. Here, we collate recent research across several academic disciplines and sectors in order to better understand the mechanisms that ‘lock-in’ food systems in unsustainable states.

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