Over Population or Over Consumption?



In recent years, I have heard of the idea that our world is becoming overpopulated. This is a scary thought. It means that there might not be enough water, land, and food – all of the basic things we need to live – available for everyone on the planet. It’s a difficult idea to comprehend because our planet is so vast, and, currently, there appears to be unused land. Therefore, is the problem really overpopulation, or overconsumption?



http://www.saskwater.com/WhoWeAre/CorporateProfile.asp

 In Canada, the answer is overconsumption. SaskWater is Saskatchewan’s Crown water utility. They have embarked on a water conservation program called, Save a drop. Save a lot. This is because there is a lot of water on this earth, but only about 1% of it is useable fresh water (Retrieved February 27, 2011 from http://www.saskwater.com/Conservation/pdfs/2250-10012_SkWtr_StudentPoster_8.5x11_April8.pdf). In addition, we have polluted some of our useable water through chemical and effluent release. Environment Canada has reported that each Canadian uses 329 litres of water a day! Think of how many 4 litre milk jugs you could fill with 329 litres of water. The answer is more than 82. Could you fit that many milk jugs in your living room? It almost seems laughable that we use water at that rate while we foolishly pollute it, and the average person in a third world country uses merely 8 litres of water a day – 2 milk jugs (Retrieved February 27, 2011 from http://www.saskwater.com/Conservation/pdfs/2250-10012_SkWtr_StudentPoster_8.5x11_April8.pdf).
Please go to the SaskWater website to learn water conservation tips.



http://www.saskwater.com/Conservation/index.asp?sub=subConservation&type=Savealot

Canada has 167 million acres of farmland (Retrieved February 27, 2011 from http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=77b33b8c-a573-4d36-9af8-f9964af59237). According to Natural Resources Canada, Alberta land that was designated for farming activity was approximately 46% cropped and 40% cattle (Retrieved February 27, 2011 from http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/auth/english/maps/economic/agriculture/agriculture1996/1).



This use is unbalanced since humans obtain more energy from eating plants than they do animals (Roberts & Ingram, p. 51, 2001). Therefore, we are over consuming meat products in our diet. By doing so, we also over consume water because more than 2,400 gallons of water is needed to produce 1 pound of meat, while 1 pound of wheat only requires 25 gallons. According to PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), more water is saved by not eating a pound of meat than by not showering for six months! To put this thought in a little more perspective, a vegan diet will use 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat-eating diet uses more than 4,000 gallons of water per day. (Retrieved February 27, 2011 from http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/meat-wastes-natural-resources.aspx).

There is evidence from the US Working Group on the Food Crisis that if we use sustainable agriculture for farming practices, we would be able to feed the world (Retrieved February 27, 2011 from http://usfoodcrisisgroup.org/node/15). No overconsumption and no starvation. Therefore, “moderation is the key”.

References:

Roberts, M. &. (2001). Biology: 2nd Edition. Cheltenham, UK: Nelson Science.

http://www.saskwater.com