From Sustainable Agroecosystems to Sustainable Food Systems - Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems - page 350

examine how these current trends in diet across the globe
may be exacerbating food supply and production prob-
lems. Very difficult choices may confront human society
if we fail to critically examine the impacts of human diet
on the earth's ecological foundations and our ability to
feed our growing numbers.

what the human “carrying capacity” of the earth is, but few
deny that a rapidly growing human population makes it
increasingly difficult to simultaneously feed people, pro-
tect agricultural resources, and protect the integrity of the
natural environment. Any coordinated effort to develop
sustainable food systems, therefore, must take on the prob-
lem of how to better control human population growth.

Control of Population Growth

Self-sufficiency and Bioregionalism

Underlying the problem of many people eating a richer
and richer diet is the problem of a growing number of
people. Experts from various disciplines disagree about

Food systems around the world are fast becoming linked
into one massive global food system. Although this trend

FIGURE 24.9 Making corn tortillas in Tlaxcala, Mexico. Local diets, local culture, and local agriculture are closely linked in
sustainable food systems.