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Complex Systems Theorists Predict We're About One Year From Global Food Riots
pigrabbitbear writes with conjecture on what triggers global unrest. Quoting the article: "In a 2011 paper, researchers at the Complex Systems Institute unveiled a model that accurately explained why the waves of unrest that swept the world in 2008 and 2011 crashed when they did. The number one determinant was soaring food prices. Their model identified a precise threshold for global food prices that, if breached, would lead to worldwide unrest."
No man is more than three square meals away from revolution.
That the contemporary "Zombie" as portrayed in movies, at the receiving end of a chainsaw or shotgun, looks and acts very much like a hungry person would?
Sometimes I wonder if that's just a co-incidence or by design... After all, there's not much difference between a starving person calling out "Brains" and "Grains" is there?
And when I do wonder that, I really, really hope it's by co-incidence.
GrpA
Enjoy science fiction? "Turing Evolved" - AI, Mecha, Androids and rail-gun battles. What more could you want?
In fact, every major famine in the 20th Century was caused NOT by major crop failures, but by deliberate political policy or the effects of war.
Famous examples of this include the forced collectivization of farms in the Ukraine between 1928 and 1933, the time of the warlords in China during the 1920's and 1930's when fighting disrupted food supply, the effects of the the invasion of China by Japan (which also disrupted food supply), the "Great Leap Forward" in China that seriously affected food production, and the political policies of dictators in Africa during the second half of the 20th Century.
You forgot to mention that the growth rate is slowing, particularly as two certain countries (admittedly, slowly) uplift themselves, with the most common studies expecting a plateau to begin appearing around 10-11 billion.
No it doesnt help that 1/3 of american corn is diverted to ethanol (but thats another issue).
But the problem (as has been stated millions of times) isnt food production, its food distribution.
I love this page: http://flowingdata.com/2011/07/27/if-the-world-lived-in-a-single-city/
Houston is pretty spread out, ~3700 people per sq mile. that's ~5.7 people per acre.
Living in cities amplifies the food thing cause people aren't growing their own, and so are dependent on a few people to supply them. Thats called civilization and specialization and a buncha other things. But even so, it still comes down to distrubution. Ever work in a grocery? You see how much stuff we throw away due to rules about experiation and what not in a typical grocery store?
Again. Not a quantity problem, its a distribution problem.
So the doom and gloom? Not warranted.
The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.