Eating is an essential part of life; it's simple and pretty straight-forward. The global population eating though is where it gets complicated. Supplying literally billions of people with food is tricky when the population keeps on growing.

The global food demand could double by 2050. But producing food to supply the global population is costly for the environment, according to David Tilman, Regents professor of Ecology in the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences along with colleagues.

Researchers say producing that much food for the growing population by 2050 could significantly increase the levels of carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the environment, which can cause the extinction of numerous species.

Tilman pointed out that the agricultural sector currently accounts for a third of all the greenhouse gas emissions around the world, and that along with the demand for food, these emissions could double.

Not only that, but in order to keep up with the demand, poor nations with their current practices will need agricultural land larger than the United States - around 2.5 billion acres.

However, the researchers said that this outcome can be voided by having the poor nations adapt the high-yielding technologies that rich nations use, and if global nitrogen fertilizer use was more efficient.

Jason Hill, assistant professor in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences, added that strategically intensifying crop production in developing and least-developed nations could reduce the overall environmental harm that food production would cause.

Looking Into the Future

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the world's population will reach 9.1 billion, an increase of 34% by 2050 - and this population increase will mostly occur in developing countries.

In order to feed that vast number of the population, the organization projects that food production must increase by 70%. In fact, in order to feed the population, the annual cereal production will need to increase by around 900 million tons, while the annual meat production needs to increase by 200 million tons to 470 million tons.

But along with the growing population, climate change will also play a factor in all of this. According to a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute for the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, 25 million more children will go hungry by 2050 because of climate change-induced food shortages, reported Suzanne Goldenberg of The Guardian.