For me there are three variables to juggle.
1. Demand (changing what and how much we eat, moving towards healthier diets)
2. Efficiency of production (improved soils, higher yielding varieties, lower environmental impact etc.)
3. Land sparing (I hope and expect that the above will lead to reduced land requirement).
The driving force for decision making regarding points 1 and 2 should be to consider their interactions and how they will lead to land sparing.
The key remaining question being what would we do with this spared land?
1. Build houses?
2. Plant trees?
3. Use it as a fail-safe if the increasing population can't always be fed?
These are important policy questions that so far have been answered by very local and short-term decision making. A change is needed.
For me there are three variables to juggle.
1. Demand (changing what and how much we eat, moving towards healthier diets)
2. Efficiency of production (improved soils, higher yielding varieties, lower environmental impact etc.)
3. Land sparing (I hope and expect that the above will lead to reduced land requirement).
The driving force for decision making regarding points 1 and 2 should be to consider their interactions and how they will lead to land sparing.
The key remaining question being what would we do with this spared land?
1. Build houses?
2. Plant trees?
3. Use it as a fail-safe if the increasing population can't always be fed?
These are important policy questions that so far have been answered by very local and short-term decision making. A change is needed.