Issue 2 / 2011 of the Journal "Technikfolgenabschätzung - Theorie und Praxis" (TATuP) with the thematic focus "Feeding the World: Challenges and Opportunities" is now available [27.07.2011]
By 2015 the hunger in the world should be halved - according to the millennium development goal of the United Nations. The current famine in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia clearly show that this target will remain wishful thinking. The TATuP issue 2 / 2011 now published responds with its thematic focus "Feeding the World" on the systemic interdependences of this subject and analyses the importance of higher investments in agriculture, mainstreaming of agro-ecological and systems approaches, and combinations of bottom-up and top-down policies. Not only due to its urgency, but also because of its complexity world nutrition is a major challenge for technology assessment.
Some of the subjects discussed in the English-language focus: The global agricultural production will need to be raised by at least 70 percent to meet the demands of an increasing population. The demand for animal products will grow. Which consequences such as a higher land demand or a further destruction of natural habitats are anticipated? Which impacts could be expected in the face of a growing overall demand of biomass, climate change, or high disturbance methods of farming?
Under further headers you will also find contributions related to the main topic. In particular two project presentations and two conference reports complement the thematic focus. The TA project "Zukunft der Ernährung. Ernährungssicherung durch nachhaltige Wissenschaft und friedliche Konfliktbearbeitung" and the project "Possible Contributions to Solve the World’s Food Problem" are introduced. The conference reports address "The Complexity of Pro-poor Agricultural Intensification" and "Green Genetic Engineering". As always, TATuP also includes a review section and news from ITAS, TAB, and the TA network NTA.
The complete issue as well as individual articles are available online:
Links: