Food as a Basic Need for Survival of the Human Race - Essay Example

Name Course Tutor Date Introduction Among the many human wants that are there today, food remains one of the basic needs that human beings cannot live without. Mankind depends on this crucial basic need for survival and life itself. Of all other basic needs that humankind needs, food is the most important. Access to adequate food determines issues such as health and the ability to work for a living. Availability of food throughout history has been a source of conflicts and wars in times of scarcity, droughts and famine. In the history of mankind, food has palsied an important role and accessibility to it has been treated as a priority for centuries. In order to get access to food, human beings have been forced to engage in economic activities that are productive and enable them to feed themselves and their families as well. Food to mankind is not only a sign of good health and social statutes abut it is also seen as a form of satisfaction and happiness. This is the reason why human beings engage in feasting, wining and dining during celebrations and social gatherings. The significance of food has been a main focus not only in the traditional world but in the contemporary one as well food production has developed from mere subsistence to feed families to commercialized and large scale production to sustain the ever growing population being such a significant commodity and bask need, all societies palace high value in its adequacy and availability and quality too (Von Braun & Joachim). Food and mankind Availability of food itself is snot enough for mankind. The kind of food that is accessed is also significant for mankind as wells. In this view, the nutritional value is very important as it determine the health implications that food has on mankind. Food does not only play a satisfactory role for mankind. It is in the food that important minerals, vitamins ands the nutritional values are provided. In this view, mankind demands a balanced diet that covers all the important classes of food which are essential for sustaining a comfortable life. The main types of food that are necessary to provide a balanced diet are carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The three types of foods play different roles in the body and must be different in different and adequate portions for a healthy and complementary. Further human bodies also need foods that provide minerals and vitamins. These are mainly found in fruits and vegetables which also form an important part of the human diet. Research has enabled mankind to discover new foods and diverse ways of providing food for the ever increasing populations (McMichael & Anthony J., et al 1254). Different cultures from different parts of the world have different food cultures which they have followed for centuries. These cultures have guided have guided the way the food patterns are shaped even up to date. . The main source of food in the world today is gotten from artificial farming. As a result, the practice has developed and become a sophisticated practice in the contemporary world. The artificial process of food production involves farming which entails both crops and animals. Throughout history, mankind has managed to identify different animals that have since been domesticated. The same case has applied to plants which have been identified as food crops. In the modern world, studies and research have improved the production capacities and qualities in a manner that is sustainable to society. Educational courses have also been developed which are associated with different aspects of food production. This has all been made necessary by the need to provide enough food for rising populations. Even though mankind has made significant steps towards achieving food sustainability, there have been a lot of concerns in the world due to eminent food crises that have hit different parts of the world. There are nations in the world which have been facing deaths due to famine and drought over several years. Further, they are faced with nutritional deficiencies which further complicate the problem. The problem is rampant especially in developing nations where authorities and individuals themselves cannot produce enough food. The satiation is especially dire in case where conflicts have made the situation even further dire. Apart from humanitarian crises, issues of climate change and environmental challenges have also made food production to mankind a problem. In developing countries where food production is a problem, starvation is high and life expectation is low as well. The problem is made worse by the inability to earn adequate incomes to sustain food production and purchasing. The number of starving people in the world has been on the increase due to climate change. Land used for agriculture has been rendered useless due to desertification and extreme weather. Further, existing natural sources of food have been overexploited due to increased demand. Developed countries where issues of food shortages are rare have been blamed for current environmental and climatic change problems. This is because they have high rates of pollution and environmental degradation which has been blamed for extreme weather. With current rates of food consummation in the world today the environment has been put at an all high pressure. This means that more forests have to be cleared to meet world demands e. further, sources of food such as oceans, seas and lakes have been overfished. Some species of fish have become extinct while others are becoming extremely rare to catch. The pressure that food production to mankind is putting on the environment is unsustainable and hence the problems of starvation are being experienced in different parts of the world. To make the situation even worse, billions of tons of food are wasted annually in poor storage and mismanaged habits. The amounts wasted are actually enough to feed all starving people over and over again. So as mankind works to produce more food the food production capacity of the world is more has enough to last every one. If management and wastage were to be reduced, then the problem of shortages would be solved. Furthermore billions of dollars would be saved in terms of extra development in order to meet the demand taken by wastage and mismanagement. Food being a basic need, no one should suffer from hunger when there is food going bad somewhere else in the world (Rosegrant, Mark, Ximing & Sarah 5). Billions of dollars are spent in humanitarian and rehabilitation of people faced with starvation. Health bills are also in the billions from illnesses caused by malnutrition and inadequacies in diets. Therefore, the problem of food and mankind needs re-strategizing and management practices in a collective manner that involves all countries with capabilities and those with less abilities. This would ensure that food shortage crises are permanently solved. Further, from the current situations, future generations are at the risk of facing even more die food situations if efforts to safeguard them are not put in place. Conclusion Food is a basic need for survival of the human race. It comes before other basic needs and all other needs. It determines the achievement of other needs such as health and nutrition. Mankind has valued food since traditional or medieval times. The food issue has evolved to what it is today. Food production today remains a huge challenge to mankind. Due to capitalistic tendencies, food production is in excess in some societies while it is extremely scarce for others. There are people among mankind who have never faced hunger in their lives while other are constantly working for long hours just to secure single meals. As a result, nutrition and life expectations are varied between societies. The solution to food and mankind lies with humankind itself. Planning management and proper strategies are key in maintaining demand and sustainability. Works cited McMichael, Anthony J., et al. "Food, livestock production, energy, climate change, and health." The Lancet 370.9594 (2007): 1253-1263. Rosegrant, Mark W., Ximing Cai, and Sarah A. Cline. World water and food to 2025: dealing with scarcity. Intl Food Policy Res Inst, 2002. Von Braun, Joachim. The World Food Situtation: New Driving Forces and Required Actions. Intl Food Policy Res Inst, 2007. Read More