Archive:001/Reduce the amount of land required to feed the world

Farmers produce more than enough crops to feed the world, but most of it isn't put to good use, and people still go hungry.

If resources were allocated differently, there would be enough food to go around (and also, less crop production would be needed).

Why

Agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, because agriculture uses the most land. To stop deforestation, we need to use less land, while still producing enough food for the world.

How

• Stop food waste
• Make the food supply more plant-based
  • Plant-based helps a lot because:
    1. Farm animals eat more food than they produce.
    2. While it's true that some land is only good for growing grass to raise animals, there's a limit to how much animal protein can be produced this way.
    3. While it's true that ruminants can eat crop residues that are too fibrous for humans to eat, there's a far more efficient way to convert this fiber into protein: growing mushrooms.
• Improve crop yields (and not just in the short term!)
• Revitalize damaged farmland

For now, the main focus is on stopping existing deforestation. But in an even better case, some land could be rewilded (i.e. reforestation).

See also

• Anti-deforestation policy - another key component to stopping deforestation.
• Where is most of the world's deforestation happening?