World food crisis will be ’survival of the fittest’

A looming world food crisis, caused by climate change and economic growth in emerging nations, will come down to ’survival of the fittest’, according to the Working Party chairman of a new report published today by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institution of Chemical Engineers.

‘The Vital Ingredient


The report describes meeting energy and food demand despite declining fossil fuel resources – without permanently damaging the environment – as the greatest technological challenge facing humanity.

Professor Peter Lillford CBE, chairman of the Working Party that produced the report says that it will be the poorest nations that succumb first: “The countries that are less technologically advanced and those that rely most heavily on food imports will be the first to suffer. It will be survival of the fittest.

“Last year, we saw riots in Bangladesh, Cameroon, Senegal and Morocco because of food shortages,” he said. “We experienced ripples of change in the UK too where many food prices rose. It’s all about the availability of food as a commodity on a global scale.

“In the developed world, because food is relatively cheap, we waste it. That is no longer morally or economically acceptable and we’ll also rely on the chemical sciences to implement technology to reduce this waste, alongside the need for adjustments in consumer behaviour. There is no way out of this unless we make changes,” warns Lillford.

Foodweek