Expectations for the future of the world population have shifted over the past decades: the average person lives longer and there is more prosperity in less than half of the world. But that means that the resources that exist are being more intensively utilized. It is in such a climate that the concept of a "food bowl" has emerged: how can we feed the world? It is estimated that more than a billion people live in areas of severe food shortages. The world has moved on from 'food deficit' to 'food insecurity'. Our food production has also changed over time. Nowadays farming is a high-tech industry that uses enormous machinery and is very resource-intensive. That means it requires the inputs of a lot of water, fertilisers, oil and seeds. It is also far more mobile and much of our food production is carried out on an enormous scale. In many areas farming has been concentrated in a few areas, making them vulnerable to extreme weather events such as floods, storms and droughts. To exacerbate the problem many rural communities have been inundated with migrants, creating social tensions. The high production volumes have also led to a decline in the diversity of our diets. Fewer people know where their food comes from and where it comes from. And food producers often have little interest in food produced outside their own communities. The global food system is dominated by large corporations. Today almost half of the world's food is produced outside its place of origin. We also eat less fresh, more preserved, processed food than ever before. It was clear to me that we have to do things differently to produce food in an age of global change. But how do we do that in a world of increasing challenges? I realised that it is not about doing things better. For too long the answer has been that we need more of the same: more resources, more technology, more capital, more markets and more efficiency. And when markets fail and it is clear that there is not enough to go around, it is too late to take stock and ask what else we can do. We often wait for catastrophe to happen, because for some people it is less uncomfortable to wait for tragedy to strike than it is to deal with the challenge of finding real solutions. But sometimes change comes from a sense of necessity, when people have little time for talk. This happened in Egypt when the government was trying to stop young people from going hungry. One day at a press conference they asked me what I thought of the situation. I thought for a minute. Then I said: 'When it comes to food security, I think we should begin by sharing what we have.' And the government agreed. It ended up becoming a reality – they provided the rice and it started being shared. I think we should do the same for all of us and stop waiting for disaster to strike before we recognise that food security is no longer guaranteed. Instead of sitting back and waiting for someone else to solve the problem we should stand up and see if we cannot find real answers ourselves. I am a realist. I know that I will not succeed if others do not join me. But as long as no one is willing to act, there is no point in talking. Food security is about being part of a network of people who know that we all need each other and work together to ensure a better future for all. We have only two options: we can continue to do what we have always done, or we can face reality and make our food supply sustainable. This means we need to talk about what needs to be done – not just for the future of the planet, but also for the survival of our societies. For example, many people simply assume that everyone who lives in a wealthy nation has the capacity to feed themselves. People in developed countries see no alternative to the existing system and therefore there is a very active anti-science movement that tries to prevent change. We have created the global food system that it is today, but the system is now unsustainable. Unless we change it, we will end up destroying the planet as well as many of the cultures and cultures within us. What we produce today depends on unsustainable, often violent, production processes that often do not contribute to our health or that of the planet. Food production is part of a whole chain of products and energy flows that are connected to other things that we do. This is how we know that a lot of what we eat also comes from the use of resources and from the way we produce and consume energy. It has been estimated that as much as 30 per cent of all global emissions are related to the food system. It is not about the choice between the environment and food security, but rather a matter of seeing how we can build a sustainable society in one single generation. While this remains a dream many will die of hunger, disease and preventable diseases because the world's food production will be destroyed. The future of our society and of the whole world depends on food security. When my mother was just 20 years old she gave birth to my brother. I am the oldest of six children. Today I have eight grandchildren, so you can see that it is important to find solutions to the problems we have created today for the sake of their future. Our world can change. We do not need to wait for catastrophe. This is why my project is called 'The future we can choose'. We need to act – today. While we continue to accept the market as our only choice, we will simply continue to produce food in a way that leads to greater suffering and inequality for future generations. Even though it seems impossible to make change today, even if we all act alone, we will not prevent change from occurring. We can ensure that future generations do not suffer the same poverty and hunger that has affected so many, but we also need each other to see this change happen. So the time has come to take back our collective future. It is not about making changes in isolation, but instead creating a new type of global relationship that will be based on sharing ideas and technologies so we can learn from each other and work together to guarantee our collective future. Many may not know this, but most of the time we do not grow the food we eat. We use the energy that is made from fossil fuels and create fertilisers and pesticides out of a limited supply of resources. Farming is about 30 per cent energy consumption, 20 per cent materials and 60 per cent of water. That means we need to produce a lot more food than can be produced by planting and harvesting. We will also have to work with nature in a way that is more natural. We have to accept that nature's systems work – like natural cycles, long-term effects, natural succession, reforestation and soil regeneration. Many people do not realise that we already produce around a billion tons of food a day, but more than half of that goes to waste. There are simply too many mouths to feed on this planet. We have been managing the food system for hundreds of years, but we have never tried to feed nine billion people or create a new system to cope with climate change and resource depletion. This is why we do not need to reinvent the wheel. We already have hundreds of ingenious farming technologies that help us produce enough food for 7 billion people – even when we combine our abilities and use our resources in a more efficient way. We just need to use what we know and already have in order to feed everyone. ### How to save the world from global hunger But as long as we continue to have little food, there is also little political will to address the real challenges that we face. Food will always be at the centre of political debate in the world, because it is a product, an industry and a resource. However, to solve the food challenges we need to break out of the narrow view of political debate. We have reached a critical juncture when it comes to food security: either we will be able to grow food without harming the environment or the environment and our societies will collapse. And that is not only a matter of opinion. We are starting to see the connection between food, climate change and biodiversity loss. This is where we have to stop talking and find solutions. We will not achieve what we want if we do not make changes and do not accept that we need to change our way of thinking about food and the environment. When it comes to food security we will never come up with a perfect solution. We can never guarantee that everyone will be able to feed themselves, no matter what we do. However, we can address the problem in the same way that an airline company or a hospital does: by having redundancy, by having safety measures and by managing the network so that it is strong enough to deal with any problem or crisis. I think the biggest problem in food security today is that we are not doing this and because of that we have never had any certainty that we can guarantee future food supplies. What we need are real strategies to guarantee food security. And not only for our societies, but also for the future of the planet. So I do not think we need more discussions. We need more action. We need a strategic plan, because food security is more than just a set of technologies and techniques to manage it. It is also about a way of thinking: what are the things that we need to change? Which policies, strategies and regulations do we need to put in place? To address the food challenges, we need to transform global agriculture, produce food more efficiently and move our food system towards what I call a virtuous cycle. Food security is too important to rely on the market alone. Food needs to become a social