Study: Go veggie or face global famine

Tofu and salad to save us from extinction, anyone? They may be the only hope for continuing life on the planet, according to the world’s leading experts on water.

Issuing one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, scientists warn that the world’s population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages and widespread famine.

Researchers at the Stockholm International Water Institute in Sweden say the planet will have to trim its meat-based diet from 20% to 5% to cope with water shortages and feed an extra 2bn people by 2050.

“There will not be enough water available on current croplands to produce food for the expected 9bn population in 2050 if we follow current trends and changes towards diets common in western nations,” states the report, entitled Feeding a Thirsty World: Challenges and Opportunities for a Water and Food Secure World.

Co-written by a dozen experts from the institute, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, and the International Water Management Institute, the report provides new evidence that current methods of food production could lead to increased shortages and intense competition for scarce water resources in many regions of the world.

The report notes that 900m people are hungry and 2bn more are undernourished in spite of a continual rise in per capita production.

With agriculture accounting for 70% of all water use, growing more food to feed another 2bn people by 2050 will place greater pressure on available water and land.

“Feeding everyone well is a primary challenge for this century,” said the report’s editor, Anders Jägerskog.

“Overeating, undernourishment, and waste are all on the rise and increased food production may face future constraints from water scarcity. We will need a new recipe to feed the world in the future.”

Animal protein-rich food consumes five to ten times more water than a vegetarian diet while one-third of the world’s arable land is currently used to grow crops to feed animals.

“There will be just enough water if the proportion of animal-based foods is limited to 5% of total calories and considerable regional water deficits can be met by a… reliable system of food trade,” the report states.

The scientists also highlighted an expected global surge in demand for energy, which is predicted to rise by 60% over the next 30 years.

Dire warnings of water scarcity come as Oxfam and the UN prepare for a possible second global food crisis within five years. Prices for staples such as corn and wheat have risen nearly 50% on international markets since June.

Oxfam has forecast that the price increase will have a devastating impact in developing countries that rely heavily on food imports, including parts of Latin America, North Africa, and the Middle East.