Chapter 3 – Food Production and the Environment summary

This chapter discusses the prospects of feeding an ever growing human population given the constraints on food production such as converting land into farmland, harming the environment, limited water supplies and many other factors that poses a negative externality on the environment. In order to address these issues without compromising food production and the environment, government intervention and policies need to be put in place to avoid any market failures. This chapter consists of
Economic principles for environmental externalities
Overview of the global food production and their constraints
Environmental dilemma in the US
Introduces organic and locally grown food

In the presence of externalities, fisherman or farmers tend to overgraze and over harvest due to the potential future stocks that they might miss out on. When governmental intervention or clear rights are not establish this can lead to a depletion of goods and affect the economy as a whole. In order to avoid these issues, two parties can assign properly rights to negotiate their own solutions to an externality problem without having government to intervene. The global food situation is an integral part of the economy however there are so many factors that go into the global food equation such as population growth by educating women and girls, changing food consumption patterns by studying data to determine the adequate amount, and finally increasing food production through scientific innovation. However, the United States faces major environmental challenges in the US food production such as water scarcity to irrigate crops, water quality, soil quality, reduced genetic diversity, and climate change. These externalities poses a threat to food security, environment, and individuals like us. In order to prevent these issues, policy makers have taken action to address these issues through