With 8 billion people to feed every day, demand for protein – especially meat, which takes by far the biggest toll on the environment – soars as the population grows. As people around the world gather together for food-rich holidays, we wonder: Can we feed this growing world without starving the planet? The AP reported from five continents to learn about how some creative thinkers and innovators around the world are trying to solve it.
Agriculture feeds 8 billion people every day, but also threatens wild animals and plants because of the resources needed to raise our food, especially meat. The AP reported from five continents to better understand this protein problem – and learn about ways innovators are trying to solve it.
Human history is shaped by our ability to feed ourselves. See how population growth is tied to farmland, and how food production's profound environmental effect shows us the need for change.
No food is harder on the environment than beef. In Texas, where beef is a way of life, rancher Meredith Ellis now calls the shots for her 3,000-acre family-run operation. For her, finding ways to raise beef better is not just good business -- she sees the industry's effects on the environment and believes the future of the planet is on the line.
Demand for seafood is soaring, but oceans are giving up all they can. Can we farm fish in more sustainable ways?
Poverty is killing the Amazon. Treating the soil and farmers better could help save what's left.
The veggie burger has come a long way from the dry patties of the past — just not far enough to convert legions of meat lovers. But new techniques are in development, with hopes of satisfying our enduring craving for flesh with plants.
Meat cultivated from cells — with no need to raise and slaughter an animal — is now a reality. But can it be made cheaply enough to displace animal agriculture? And what will it take to tempt consumers to make the switch?
Pastoralists in Senegal and Mongolia draw on millennia of experience to raise livestock in harsh, volatile climates. What can they teach us as our environment changes?
The amount of land for agriculture is finite. Nowhere is this more apparent than Singapore, which is trying to produce more of its own food with almost no land. Is Singapore a glimpse into our food future?
How often do people in the U.S. eat beef? What factors into their supermarket choices? What about you? What motivates your decisions? Answer the questions below and see how you compare.
One of the thorniest problems of the 21st century is how to get people to eat less meat. A new poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that most U.S. adults said they eat meat at least several times a week. About two-thirds said they eat chicken or turkey that often, and 43% eat beef that frequently. Experts agree that the urgency of climate change and the demands of a surging global population call for an overhaul of how humans get their protein. That will require changing consumer behavior. One answer? Small nudges to eat less meat.
SUKHBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — For millennia, herders in Mongolia and their animals have lived and died together in the country’s vast grasslands, slowly shaping one of the last uninterrupted ecosystems of its kind.
ANNDIARE, Senegal (AP) — The planet is changing, but pastoralists here in the Sahel region of Africa are in many ways still raising livestock the way their ancestors did centuries ago.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Beef was at the heart of Texas long before there was a Texas. As early as the 1600s, ranchers were raising thousands of cattle in the region, and as they expanded their herds and drew more settlers to the area.
Like much of the rest of the world, Singapore is racing to feed a growing population with limited natural resources. But with almost no land for agriculture this small, wealthy, fast-paced and densely-packed nation is doing so by embracing and encouraging new food technologies to help feed the nation.
Renowned for its stunning biodiversity, the Amazon rainforest region is also home to a vast array of people and cultures. “People usually think that the environment doesn’t contain and include people, but it does,” said soil scientist Judson Ferreira Valentim.
FETE FORROU, Senegal (AP) — The Fulani people — also known as the Peuhl — are believed to be the largest seminomadic ethnic group in the world, with communities stretching from Senegal to the Central African Republic.
Agriculture feeds 8 billion people every day, but also threatens wild animals and plants because of the resources needed to raise our food, especially meat. The AP reported from five continents to better understand this protein problem – and learn about ways innovators are trying to solve it. Learn more at apnews.com/science. #TheProteinProblem #foodsustainability #climatechange #environment #futureoffood #foodtechnology AP Video: Terry Chea, David Goldman, Lucas Dumphreys, Yesica Fisch, Shelby Lum, Daniel Niemann, Brittany Peterson, Fadlan Syam, Emma H. Tobin, Angie Wang, Kathy Young, Olivia Zhang
It’s not just nostalgia that keeps beef in the forefront of life in Texas. Texas is home to more cows than any other state and these ranchers and researchers want the industry to do better for the environment.
