The Imperiled Food Supply
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Population growth, shifting agricultural practices, and altered weather patterns are weighing on the food supply, a pressure that will only intensify over the next 30 years, when the planet holds an estimated 10 billion inhabitants. Rising temperatures will reduce crop yield and spawn more pests, higher carbon dioxide levels will lessen the nutritional value of food, and fish will move away from the equator, where the greatest population growth is expected, and closer to the poles. Biotechnology, resource management techniques, better irrigation, crop insurance, and altered trade policies can all limit the damage, but world leaders must prepare now for the coming challenge to food security.
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