Too much food or not enough food?
Plants are essential food for all living organisms, including man, to survive. In the Ecosystems section, we saw they are the basis of the food pyramid. Farming began 7-8,000 years ago, when men stopped living a nomadic life, began to live in stable communities, and started to produce food by selecting the plants that were fittest for periodical sowing and harvesting.
During the last century, the farming techniques have developed so much as to increase crops by almost five times. The increase in the availability of food has been, however, very different in the different countries and regions of the world. In developing countries, over 800 million people still suffer from hunger or malnutrition, while in industrialised countries more and more people are overeating or overweight. In both cases, this food imbalance negatively affects both human health and productivity. In fact, natural products have maintained their market share and are expected to even increase it over the next few decades. These products have the great advantage of being renewable: unlike modern plastics and man-made fibres, which are produced from non-renewable resources (oil, coal), they are not bound to disappear. A cotton plantation grows all over again every year, as well as a forest can renew itself, though more slowly, after the trees have been cut.
Special reports
-
18 May 2011
Artificial photosynthesis
The history of science and technology is packed with discoveries and inventions inspired by nature...
30 July 2020
Holidays, yes! but they must be sustainable!
We have been speaking of sustainable behaviours to apply to our daily life, but what happens when we unplug and…
-
2 July 2014
A hoax? No thank you, I prefer to find out myself!
In Italian, bufala: a hoax, also means a female buffalo...
1 September 2019
What language does science speak?
Do you remember the game called “Chinese whispers”? All the participants had to stand in line and the game started…
-
15 September 2021
Can you be intelligent without a brain?
Can you be intelligent without a brain? The answer is "in a certain sense, yes" and this is demonstrated by…
26 July 2021
Japanese beetles and other alien species
There is a beetle that has been invading the Italian countryside and cities for some time now, a small insect…
16 June 2021
A turtle’s life
World Sea Turtle Day is held on 16 June. First established in 2008, the day is now supported by Sea…
-
18 May 2011
Artificial photosynthesis
The history of science and technology is packed with discoveries and inventions inspired by nature...
-
30 July 2020
Holidays, yes! but they must be sustainable!
We have been speaking of sustainable behaviours to apply to our daily life, but what happens when we unplug and…
2 July 2014
A hoax? No thank you, I prefer to find out myself!
In Italian, bufala: a hoax, also means a female buffalo...
-
1 September 2019
What language does science speak?
Do you remember the game called “Chinese whispers”? All the participants had to stand in line and the game started…
-
18 May 2011
Artificial photosynthesis
The history of science and technology is packed with discoveries and inventions inspired by nature...
-
30 July 2020
Holidays, yes! but they must be sustainable!
We have been speaking of sustainable behaviours to apply to our daily life, but what happens when we unplug and…
From the Multimedia section
Facts
-
Flour from forests
Bread and flour are staple foods for many cultures around the world. It is possible to produce flour from cereals…
-
CO2 “eating” trees
If a tree “eats” CO2 and produces oxygen it is easy to understand the importance it has in reducing the…
Energy from palm trees
Oils that are obtained from palm trees can be used as alternatives to fossil fuels and their use is about…
-
The Christmas tree tradition
People tell that in Germany, at Christmas Eve, Saint Boniface cut an oak and in that place...
-
17 May 2011
Flour from forests
Bread and flour are staple foods for many cultures around the world. It is possible to produce flour from cereals…
-
16 May 2011
The forest has its own seasons
Even if the temperature of this ecosystem is stable all...
-
23 February 2012
CO2 “eating” trees
If a tree “eats” CO2 and produces oxygen it is easy to understand the importance it has in reducing the…
16 May 2011
Energy from palm trees
Oils that are obtained from palm trees can be used as alternatives to fossil fuels and their use is about…
-
17 May 2011
Flour from forests
Bread and flour are staple foods for many cultures around the world. It is possible to produce flour from cereals…