Data highlights on the global food supply | Grist

Data highlights on the global food supply | Grist: "On the production side, the amount of unused arable land worldwide has dwindled. Overworked soils are becoming eroded and degraded, and overpumped aquifers are being depleted. Meanwhile, as the global population grows and increasing biofuel production converts grain into fuel for cars, demand for food continues to climb. I discuss these challenges in Chapters 2 and 9 of Plan B 4.0. Here are some highlights from the supporting data:

In Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, human populations increased threefold from 1961 to 2007, while livestock populations grew 12-fold. Increasing foraging needs and human food needs have placed excessive demands on soils. The country is losing 867,000 acres of cropland and rangeland to desertification each year."