Major Investment Needed To Avert Food Crisis, Study Says

An international commission says billions of dollars must be invested in agriculture and food distribution to avoid a catastrophic increase in hunger worldwide in the coming years. In a new study, the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change said a coordinated series of responses is needed to feed a growing world population in the face of climate change, ecosystem degradation, and rising food prices. By significantly increasing sustainable agriculture, the group says, the world can use farming as a tool to fight climate change since healthy soils could absorb carbon dioxide rather than releasing it. Other recommendations include intensifying agricultural production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions; targeting populations that are most vulnerable; improving access to nutritional foods; and improved efficiencies to reduce loss and waste in food production.