Feeding 7 billion and more

TEHRAN, Oct. 31 (MNA) -- According to the United Nations, the world population will hit 7 billion on October 31, a rise of two billion in a little over a quarter of a century. The UN predicts that at its current pace, the world population will rise from 7 billion to 9 billion in the next 40 years and almost all of the increase will be in poor countries. And this population explosion is occurring while millions of people go to bed hungry and more than a billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. It is true that the green revolution has helped us to produce crops to feed such a large population and we should be thankful for this, but the use of fertilizers and pesticides, which have helped to produce more food, have also had a serious effect on the health of human beings and the environment. Even if our planet could feed several billion more people, it would be unwise to think that the population explosion should not be brought under control. Instead of making efforts to feed more people who have not been born yet, we must make efforts to raise the standard of living for the people who are alive now so they can live in dignity. The global food crisis of 2007-2008 should have come as a serious wakeup call about rapid population growth in less developed countries. The rise in global food prices in recent years has pushed millions more into poverty. Now, a very large percentage of people’s income in many countries must be spent on food. In April, World Bank President Robert Zoellick announced, “More poor people are suffering and more people could become poor because of high and volatile food prices.” Anxiety over food prices and the sorrowful scenes of malnourished children that we see broadcast on television and published by other media outlets make it clear that our planet is not a good place to live. To feed the ever-increasing population, great pressure has been put on resources. Many rivers and lakes have dried up or are being dried up due to droughts and excessive use of their water to irrigate farmlands to produce crops. Even the ground water in some countries is disappearing or becoming contaminated. Over the years, billions of hectares of forests have been destroyed to produce crops, which has greatly harmed the world’s ecosystem. Urbanization and the construction of roads and factories have also consumed millions of hectares of farmland and forests. How will it be possible to produce more food and to provide essential services to millions of more people who will be born in the future, or who are alive now but malnourished, without using more water, land, and energy? And this is not all. The rapid rise in population and deforestation are partly responsible for climate change. According to new studies conducted by Spain’s Universidad de Almeria, every person emits the equivalent of approximately two tons of carbon dioxide a year from the time food is produced to when the human body excretes it, representing more than 20 percent of total yearly emissions. Obviously, there is no panacea for reducing birth rates, and certain other factors, such as education, the empowerment of women, cultural reforms, and efforts to establish gender equality, are also very important. However, there will be a catastrophe if the world does not promptly address the population explosion. In 2000, the United Nations set the goal of reducing global poverty by half by 2015. However, we will have to wait and see if the UN will be able to achieve this goal or even come close. Unfortunately, the United Nations has been focusing more on effects rather than causes. As prevention is better than treatment, it would be much easier and less costly for the UN to focus more on reducing the birth rate in poor countries than to constantly prepare to send humanitarian assistance when a famine occurs. For example, in Somalia, which has one of the highest birth rates in the world, only 1 percent of married women have access to modern contraception. Former Irish president Mary Robinson, who visited Somalia in July to draw global attention to the famine in the country, said, “One of the ways you open up a conversation is to ask how many children do you have. Not a single woman said less than six children.” The scarcity of natural resources, especially water, may even lead to wars between countries in the future. Currently, there is a dispute between Turkey, Syria, and Iraq over water sharing. Iraq and Syria want Turkey, where the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates are located, to increase the flow of water. The role of poverty should not be underestimated in uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Syria. For example, in certain rich Arab countries, where the standard of living is higher, the people are less dissatisfied about their despotic leaders. When Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in Tunisia in December 2010, he did it because he could not feed his family after the police prevented him from selling fruits and vegetables on the street. The food riots in 2008 in certain African, Asian, and South American countries that were sparked by high food prices were another stark reminder that bleak times may be just over the horizon. Unfortunately, poverty even exists in more developed countries. For example, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.2 million people in the United States are living below the official poverty line. The anti-corporatism protests in the U.S. and European countries are indications that a considerable percentage of people in these countries are struggling due to the high cost of living. It should not be considered an “extreme view” if the United Nations is urged to give warnings to poor countries to reduce birth rates. As history shows, hungry people will leave their villages, cities, and even countries in search of food. That is why no country should believe it is immune from the consequences of poverty in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Nowadays, migrants from poor African and Latin American countries are willing to face every danger to reach Europe or the United States. Our decisions today will affect future generations. It is the basic right of children who are born into this world to have access to enough food and fresh water and to enjoy a decent standard of living. It would be inhumane if we allow more scenes of famine and malnourishment to occur due to negligence toward the high birth rate in certain parts of the world. And it would be a great injustice to future generations if we leave behind a world with a degraded environment, natural resources and fish stocks depleted, forests destroyed, and rivers dried up and polluted. So everyone should do their part to create a better world and to prevent a global famine, while there is still time.