YOUR TEXAS AGRICULTURE MINUTE

Future food scarcity is a scary thought on Halloween

By Gene Hall

What really scares you on Halloween? Creepy clowns? Witches? Werewolves?

What scares me a lot on Halloween and all other days is the year 2050 when we’ll have 9 billion souls on the planet at the same time.

Will we be able to feed them? My sons and grandchildren will be among the billions who face that.

There might be, of course, all the problems with distribution that we have now. Totalitarian regimes that starve their people on purpose and poor infrastructure are issues that must be addressed.

But will we be able to grow enough? That doesn’t scare me. The U.S. and other agricultural superpowers can grow plenty. Our technology, our land and the people of the land are up to the task.

It’s scary that some would limit proven agricultural technology. We will need every tool, every technological breakthrough that science can manage. We must accept the verdict of science. Our miraculous agriculture will do what it does best.

Then there will be no need for fear of hunger.

The preceding commentary is brought to you by Texas Farm Bureau, the “Voice of Texas Agriculture.” Called “Your Texas Agriculture Minute,” TFB will issue thought-provoking editorials each week—via print and audio—to spark understanding of agriculture in the Lone Star State and its impact on each and every Texan.

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