Author : Gustafson, David I.

Summary : The world's food systems face an escalating challenge to meet accelerating demand for sustainably-produced, nutritious food in the face of multiple threats, including human population pressure, dwindling resources, and degraded ecosystems. About 1 billion people lack sufficient food and about 2 billion people suffer from a number of micronutrient deficiencies.

Paradoxically, more than 2 billion adults are overweight, of which 500 million are obese. These current challenges to food systems and nutrition security cast an even more ominous shadow into the future when they are considered in the context of intensifying climate change. The specific climate change and water availability adaptation challenges for food systems are daunting.