Love, food, and the Earth: Do we need a silver bullet for food systems?

Global change and an increasing food demand are putting agricultural food production in a very difficult position. It must find more eco-friendly means of production while closing the potential future yield gap. So far, no universally applicable solution seems in sight. Instead, researchers are inventing many different food and cropping systems that are applicable in various contexts. So, the question is: do we really need a silver bullet?

“Love and fear are the main emotions that motivate people. I’d rather motivate people by love […].” This is how David Tilman concluded his talk on “Environmental impacts of agriculture and how to mitigate them,” which was held on the 12th of April as part of the “Rethinking Agriculture” seminar series. But what do people need to be motivated for?

The global food system is a rascal of our environment. It is responsible for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions, a major source of water pollution and species extinction. Even more, much of the food that we produce is harmful to us humans. Unfortunately, we are not able to stop revving up agricultural production. The global population and per capita demand will drastically increase in the future. Therefore, we need to creatively search for new solutions on how to straddle two worlds: to provide enough food for everyone without compromising our climate and environment.

Professor Tillman’s pillars are efficient agriculture, closing yield gaps, healthier diets, and, as it would be fair to expect from one of the most prominent experts in ecosystem functioning, utilizing biodiversity. According to him, increasing crop species diversity from four to ten crops will eleven-fold decrease the risk of 25% harvest failure using less fertilizer. Crops that are intermingled and sown together or form intermittent stripes promote complementary patterns of resource uptake between crop species, improved nutrient cycling, and an increased resistance against pests, weeds and diseases. A similar approach is applied to cover crops: Mr. Tilman expressed confidence that in order to restore agricultural soil, a combination of C4 grasses, legumes and forbs will lead to an optimal level of soil fertility.

Indeed, in China, intercropping is practiced on 18-33% of the arable land by various estimates. It is considered as a powerful pathway for the intensification of agricultural food production in an environmentally conscious way. Interest in intercropping technology constantly grows, but should it become a miracle cure for the current food production problems?

Even though an increasing amount of effort is put into agricultural research with the best intentions in mind, we are still a little bit skeptical towards its role as a climate and environmental crisis mitigator. We’re fighting not one but many wars against malnutrition and environmental destruction at various places of the world. And this is not a good thing. Or is it? For example, ...

• … the strip intercropping system might work wonderfully on small farms, but it doesn’t apply to big farms with equipment and technology designed for large-scale cropping systems.
• … while most developed countries must work on solutions to decrease fertilization, some developing countries rather need better technology, education, and financial means to increase fertilization and keep up with the yield gap.
• ... it’s not clear if the most productive combination of plant functional types will be applicable globally and translate into different crops.
• … we could cut greenhouse gas emissions and save valuable fertile land by exchanging conventional livestock with the industrial rearing of edible insects. But is this worth the money and effort if the majority of Western society doesn’t eat insects in the first place?
  
  

Following the logic of diversity of solutions, each player develops its individual remedies to tackle future agricultural issues. They must be tailored to specific land-use practices, technological advancements, climate conditions, and societies and cultures, among others. Some advocate the use of modern technologies and genetically modified crops as main drivers of agricultural change. Others demand ecological intensification and organic farming instead.

In the 60’s, people already believed to have found the silver bullet for agricultural problems. The Green Revolution, or Third Agricultural Revolution, has significantly increased agricultural production by inventing globally applicable technologies and high-yielding crop varieties. However, very soon it has led to serious adverse effects on the environment and people’s health. The contrast between finding individual remedies and a universal solution therefore raises the question: Which approach will be more effective in feeding a growing population sustainably?

Authors: Thomas Köhler, Maria Kunle