Journal des sciences de la Terre et du changement climatique

Abstrait

Importance of Fair Food Policies through the Discussion of Ethics, Social Justice and Climate Change

Abdeali Saherwala, Noël Sturgeonan and Lisa Pavey

Survivability of human beings depends on the consumption of fats, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins and water. These components can be attained through the consumption of food, which can be attained from a variety of plants and animals. This attainment of food is thoroughly digested by your body in order to sustain it and provide it with energy for work. Garrett Hardin is an ecologist and philosopher, who warned us about the dangers of overpopulation through his literary work called The Tragedy of the Commons. He specifically outlined the difference in the energy needed for mere maintenance and work capacity for human beings. In this literary work he stated, “for man, maintenance of life requires about 1600 kilocalories a day (‘maintenance calories’). Anything that he does over and above merely staying alive will be defined as work, and is supported by ‘work calories’ which he takes in. Work calories are used not only for what we call work in common speech; they are also required for all forms of enjoyment” (Hardin). Through the Neolithic Revolution, “we abandoned the commons in food gathering, enclosing farm land and restricting pastures and hunting and fishing areas”, around 9000BC in the Fertile Crescent (Hardin). The Neolithic Revolution started the cultivation of “founder crops”, which consisted of wheat, barley, peas, lentils, chickpeas, and flax. The nomadic hunter-gatherers from 8000 BCE commenced the domestication of animals such as dogs, goats, sheep, cattle and pigs (Brown University). Industrial Revolution led to an explosion in improvement of technology and methods for farming, which provided people with the capability to produce massive amounts of food. Throughout the history of human beings, we as a species have never produced more food, than ever with so little manpower.