Premium
The conflation of needs and wants in sustainable intensification
Author(s) -
Nimmo Dale G
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
frontiers in ecology and the environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.918
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1540-9309
pISSN - 1540-9295
DOI - 10.1890/14.wb.013
Subject(s) - conflation , citation , sociology , ecology , library science , computer science , epistemology , philosophy , biology
© The Ecological Society of America www.frontiersinecology.org individuals whose food preferences are not met in the latter case be considered food insecure? Further, should agricultural landscapes that currently support much biodiversity be degraded to ensure those preferences are met in the name of food security? Statistics are often cited suggesting the world must increase food supply by 100–110% by 2050 (Tilman et al. 2011). Global analyses assess the capacity to meet this demand, for instance by closing agricultural yield gaps (the gap in yield between what is, and what could be, produced from a parcel of land; Foley et al. 2011). We know little about how closing yield gaps will affect biodiversity, nor, critically, how the consequences for biodiversity would differ if the goals were: (1) Supplying enough food only for the world’s hungry, and in regions where it can be accessed by those facing food shortages, as opposed to: (2) Supplying food at the aggregate level to meet all demand, encompassing both the needs of the poor and the preferences of the rich. The conflation of needs and wants in sustainable intensification