Poult Sci 2008. 87:1693. doi:10.3382/ps.2008-87-9-1693
© 2008 Poultry Science Association
Food for Thought
C. G. Scanes, Editor-in-Chief
We are seeing the prices of many food and feed commodity items continuing to rise. This is particularly evident with the price of grain, including wheat, rice, and corn, reaching record or near-record levels. Grains may be consumed as such or by conversion into animal products. The increase in commodity prices is compounded at the wholesale and retail levels by the increased costs of transportation, processing, and storage because of the effects of increased world prices of oil and hence of all oil-derived chemicals and petroleum. Rising food prices have a disproportionate effect on the poorest members of all societies. People with the lowest incomes spend a high percentage of their meager income on food, perhaps 50, 60, or 70% of their income. Moreover, as food prices rise, the choices of which foods to purchase (if there is a choice) can lead to deficiencies in key nutrients. Global food security is a key goal under the United Nations Millennium goals (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/) with Goal 1 being to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger with the metrics being to reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day, to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people, and to reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. Goals 4 and 5, respectively, are to reduce child mortality and to improve maternal health, both of which require improvements to nutrition globally. In the developed world, there is substantial poverty, which results in health disparities. World food prices are rising due to the effects of the laws of supply and demand. Demand for grain is increasing due to increasing population; increased per capita income, particularly in China and India, with resultant greater consumption of meat, milk and eggs; and the use of grain to produce the petroleum substitutes (ethanol and biodiesel) or as a feed-stock for the chemical industry (e.g., corn-based poly-lactate polymers).
Supply of grain is being adversely affected, locally and globally, by weather conditions such as droughts in Australia and flooding in the US Corn Belt. For prices to fall there needs to be a decrease in demand, an increase in supply, or both. There is a moral imperative for the issue of global food security to be addressed. It is questioned whether governments are giving sufficient thought and action to address the critical issue of food security. Agricultural scientists can affect both supply and demand. The production of grains will be increased by sufficient funding of research in plant breeding employing both traditional approaches and genome-based approaches and biotechnology. Although yield is an important consideration, drought, flood, and disease tolerance/resistance are also critical. Maximal production in an environmentally sustainable manner requires both research and strong outreach programs. The quality of grains can be improved with plant breeding and by optimizing agronomic practices. Moreover, there is a profound need for the further development of the required workforce to perform research and outreach, and to teach the next generation of farmers.
High grain prices have a marked impact on the livestock industry, where feed costs represent over half the cost of production. Agricultural scientists have made tremendous strides in improving the feed conversion efficiency of livestock, poultry, and aquaculture species but much more needs to be done. Demand for grain is reduced as feed conversion efficiency increases and carcass yield improves. This can be achieved by animal breeding using traditional approaches supplemented by the application of genomics together with optimization of both nutrition and environment. Again, it is clear that there is a strong need for animal agricultural scientists to undertake research, teaching, and outreach. Again, there is a profound need to increase the funding available for these critical areas.
It might be axiomatic that good public policy is science-based public policy. There is a need for agricultural economists and others to determine whether government policies in developed and developing countries provide a distortion that constrains agricultural production. For example, what are the impacts of tariffs or trade barriers on production and profitability globally or in a single country or region? Similarly, what are the impacts of subsidies on grain production or its use for ethanol or biodiesel? In these discussions, there will be winners and losers. It is critical that nations reprioritize their commitment to agricultural research, outreach, and education. It is just as important that public policy be based on sound research-based information. The alternatives are a world of decreasing food security and increased demagoguery.
