14

Agriculture and

Food Resources

MAINTAINING GRAIN STOCKS

W

hen people have access at all times to adequate

amounts and kinds of food needed for healthy,

active lives, they are said to have food security. World

grain stocks provide a measure of food security (see

larger photograph). World grain stocks are the amounts

of rice, wheat, corn, and other grains remaining from

previous harvests as a cushion against poor harvests

and rising costs. Grain stocks have been decreasing

since their all-time highs in the mid-1980s and late

1990s (see graph). The amount of grain stockpiled in

2010 would have fed the world’s people for only

72 days. According to the United Nations, world

grain stocks should not fall below a minimum of

70 days’ supply in a given year.

World grain stocks have dropped in the past few

years for several reasons. Many severe weather events

have occurred—record heat waves, severe droughts,

and numerous wildfires—suggesting that the climate is

warming, and environmental conditions such as rising

temperatures and falling water tables have caused poor

harvests. Also, as the United States and other countries

search for gasoline substitutes to reduce dependency

on foreign oil, corn yields will be increasingly diverted to

ethanol production (to blend with gasoline) instead of to

food and animal feed.

World grain stocks have also fallen because

consumption of beef, pork, poultry, and eggs has

increased in developing countries such as China

(see inset photo), where growing affluence has

led some people to diversify their diets. This trend

represents a global pattern: In highly developed

countries, animal products account for 40 percent

of the calories people consume, compared to only 5

percent of the calories people in developing countries

consume. Increased consumption of meat and meat

products has prompted a surge in the amount of

grain used to feed the world’s billions of livestock

animals: More than one-third of the world’s grain is

now used to feed livestock. Thus, the global trend of

eating more meat and other animal products is linked

to increased use of grains and other feed crops for

livestock.