Big Picture TV › Video › What is the future for World food supplies? (Part One)

What is the future for World food supplies? (Part One)

A photo of Lester Brown

Lester Brown

Founder of Worldwatch Institute

  • Downloads

  • Unfortunately, downloads are not available for this speaker.

In order to view the videos online at Big Picture TV, you need to install the Macromedia Flash Player 8 (or later) and have Javascript enabled in your browser.

Get Flash Player from macromedia

About the video: ‘What is the future for World food supplies? (Part One)’

In this two-part series Lester Brown looks at two environmental trends, aquifer depletion and rising temperatures. He focuses primarily on the long-term implications these have for world food supplies. He explains how an increasing proportion of a shrinking water supply is being used for urban and residential use, leaving fewer water resources for crop irrigation. As crop yields fall, the market price of grain will rise. This will prompt serious economic consequences and a destabilizing geo-political fall-out. The answer, he says, is to reshape the global economic machine so that it is more compatible with the ecosystem of which it is a part.

Total views: 7,997

Filmed: Washington DC, USA on 1 December 2004

Credits: Camera - Haik Naltchyan Editor - Marcus Morrell

Copyright © 2004 Betterworld Telecom

About Lester Brown

Lester Brown is an American environmentalist. He’ s the founder and former President of the Worldwatch Institute, the first research institute devoted to the analysis of global environmental issues, and founder and President of the Earth Policy Institute, which aims to provide a vision of a sustainable economy.
Dr Brown has authored or co-authored over 50 books on global environmental issues, including” Who Will Feed China?” and his most recent book “Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization”. HE is the recipient of the 1987 UN Environment Prize and The Washington Post has called him “one of the world’s most influential thinkers.”

Other videos with Lester Brown

Lester Brown

Can biofuels be sustainable?

Dr Brown explains that higher oil prices mean biofuels are now economically competitive. The sector is seeing huge growth as a result. But as more food crops are transformed into…

Recorded: 6 February 2006

Lester Brown

What are different crops used for biofuels?

Lester Brown predicts a massive growth in demand for the crops that produce biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel. These include soya beans, rapeseed (canola), sugarcane and…

Recorded: 6 February 2006

Lester Brown

Does population growth matter?

In a number of developed countries populations are now in decline. This is problematic in that it raises dependency ratios, but it can be managed by adjusting the age of retirement.…

Recorded: 6 February 2006

Lester Brown

What’s wrong with buying bottled water?

Lester Brown draws our attention to the wasteful nature of bottled water. Tap water in most countries is perfectly OK to drink. Many public water supplies, in fact, are of better…

Recorded: 6 February 2006

Lester Brown

What is the future for World food supplies? (Part 2)

In this two-part series Lester Brown looks at two environmental trends, aquifer depletion and rising temperatures. He focuses primarily on the long-term implications these have…

Recorded: 1 December 2004

Lester Brown

Can we restructure the economy to make it more sustainable?

In the first clip in this two-part series, Lester Brown talks about the issues he addresses in his book ‘Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress.’ In the book he examines…

Recorded: 1 December 2004

Lester Brown

Can we restructure the economy to make it more sustainable? (part 2)

In this second clip, Lester Brown suggests what can be done if world leaders are to get serious about climate change. The first step would be to phase out old-fashioned incandescent…

Recorded: 1 December 2004

Related videos

Richard Douthwaite

What impact will oil depletion have on the economy?

Economist Richard Douthwaite explores the economics driving climate change. He looks at how the current economic model requires sustained growth in order to survive and examines…

Recorded: 4 March 2005

Eric Schlosser

What’s wrong with industrial agriculture?

Eric Schlosser highlights the damage caused by decades of intensive food production. Schlosser believes that industrialized agriculture carries serious costs in both animal and…

Recorded: 28 October 2006

John Elkington

What changes should the world expect in coming years?

John Elkington reflects on the challenges that humanity can expect as the century unfolds. They range from global epidemics to prolonged drought, among other symptoms of advanced…

Recorded: 30 May 2006

Frank Dixon

Can corporate responsibility be profitable?

Frank Dixon argues that corporations operating in a responsible and sustainable way perform better. He talks about a new model for investment in sustainable businesses called Total…

Recorded: 20 May 2004

Helena Norberg-Hodge

What does economic globalization entail?

Helena Norberg-Hodge talks about globalization. She explains how governments across the political spectrum pander to private sector demands, often at the expense of smaller businesses.…

Recorded: 1 September 2002

Helena Norberg-Hodge

What are the benefits of supporting local food? (Part Two)

In the second part of this two-part series, Helena Norberg-Hodge explains why supporting the local food economy needn’t mean we stop buying coffee, tropical fruits and other…

Recorded: 1 September 2002

Forgotten password?

or Register