Month: February 2018

I went to a deliberation the Friday before our deliberation on Saturday with a friend. It was also on the opioid crisis and I was hoping to get another perspective on the topic and also get some experience with how a deliberation is run before I did my own. It would also be useful to get some insight on my own

Their approaches were pretty similar to our own – their three topics were about big pharmaceutical companies, the lack of good healthcare, and the possibility of community awareness campaigns throughout America. One of the main differences between their topic and ours was our team’s focus on Centre County and its afflicted rural areas, while theirs took an general look at Americans as a whole.

Their approach one was definitely the most different from ours, as they reported that pharmaceuticals represented the bulk of American opiate addicts, while a couple of representatives at our deliberation said that a decrease in opiate prescriptions had already been implemented throughout America. Their deliberation then was directed down a path of figuring out how to limit the prescription of opiates. A interesting fact that came up was that doctors were worried about not prescribing opiates because patients would give them bad reviews and the hospital would get involved. That addition really changed the flow of the talk. One idea that came up during the discussion was the underprescription of opiates for surgeries, which was interesting.

Their second approach focused more on the healthcare side of the opioid crisis and did not include any mention of injection sites, so the overall conversation was much different. While our group mainly discussed the viability and usefulness of a safe injection center in Centre County, the deliberation I went to discussed the ways to help people access healthcare .

Their third approach was quite similar to ours in that they discussed the need for positive and effective education of the effects of opioids, especially when patients are prescribed them for a surgery. They also compared the anti-cigarette ads to what local communities and state governments could run for opioids.

Overall I thought that the discussion was pretty healthy – there were no heated words and no one took over the deliberation with constant opinions. Everyone was able to share their opinions for each approach. Although the talking was relatively  In general most of the people were in agreement about what we should do but weren’t sure how to approach the actual issue. We determined that the opioid crisis was a multifaceted problem that was caused by several systematic healthcare problems more than any problem in particular.

The conclusion was pretty good as well but because so many people answered each question we didn’t get through very many questions in the end.

The deliberation I attended was very helpful as it served as a precursor to me, and as a member of Team Summary and Outreach it gave me an idea of how to summarize a discussion in full. I’m glad that I went as it definitely prepared me for what was to come.

 

Introduction

While most everyone understands that water is essential to life and that it’s necessary for our society’s functions, most people don’t understand how much water is needed to make even basic foods.  For example, how many gallons of water does producing a pound of beef cost?

The answer is 1800 gallons of water! This can be a mind-boggling amount for people unfamiliar with the process required to create your Friday night steak. In order to raise a steer, grass, forage, and feed are required, components that all require copious amounts of water in order to operate properly. Consider that it takes 147 gallons of water to produce one pound of corn, and that a steer can often eat thousands of pounds of feed over a period of a few months.

Typical values for the volume of water required to produce common foodstuffs
Foodstuff	Quantity	Water consumption, litres
Chocolate	1 kg	17,196
Beef	1 kg	15,415
Sheep Meat	1 kg	10,412
Pork	1 kg	5,988
Butter	1 kg	5,553
Chicken meat	1 kg	4,325
Cheese	1 kg	3,178
Olives	1 kg	3,025
Rice	1 kg	2,497
Cotton	1 @ 250g	2,495
Pasta (dry)	1 kg	1,849
Bread	1 kg	1,608
Pizza	1 unit	1,239
Apple	1 kg	822
Banana	1 kg	790
Potatoes	1 kg	287
Milk	1 x 250ml glass	255
Cabbage	1 kg	237
Tomato	1 kg	214
Egg	1	196
Wine	1 x 250ml glass	109
Beer	1 x 250ml glass	74
Tea	1 x 250 ml cup	27
Source: IME

Here is a list of some common food items that you would often buy at a store or have for a meal, and their corresponding water consumption, in SI units. It’s a good way to show just how much we rely on water and how much we need for our societies to function.

The Problems and the 70%

Agriculture requires a lot of food, and water scarcity can destroy the food supply for millions of people. Agriculture currently uses up roughly 70% of our global water supply, according to TheWaterProject. Only 3% of the Earth’s water is freshwater, and this means that agriculture has to compete with other sectors of society for water.

Now, where does this leave the state of the world’s food production and how does this have to do with our water supply? Well currently the world’s farms produce enough food to theoretically feed everyone on the planet, yet millions of people still go hungry because they cannot afford to pay for it. Farmers produce a lot of food every year, yet 30%, or 1.3 billion tons is wasted every year, as the food has to pass through a long process to get to your dinner table. This also means that the water used to make the food is wasted as well.

California’s Case

A good example to look at for the effects of water scarcity and food scarcity is California, which is still suffering from the effects from a historic drought.

The drought and the subsequent increased cost of water have led to declines in agricultural production across the state. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, production of oranges were down 9 percent, avocados down 13 percent, garlic down 6 percent, romaine lettuce 15 percent, and olives 29 percent in 2014, compared with the previous three-year average. The drought cost California’s farmers $1.5 billion in 2014 alone due to the combination of revenue losses from lower production and additional pumping costs.

While this drought did not cause very significant effects worldwide, it still created major problems regarding the water supply of the Southwest United States, causing a lot of strain and forcing water rationing over the state of California. Failure to manage California’s depleting groundwater could also lower California’s ability to sustain agricultural production during the next drought.

The Future

So what does this hold for the future of our food? Well, according to our current statistical models the world will have a population of 9.7 billion by 2050, and food production will have to match that. The problem is not that food production can’t match the number of people in the world but how to get that food to them. The necessity of ramping up food production will also increase the competition over the remaining water sources.

As a result, there is an increased possibility that because of improper water management, more demand for water, and climatic factors, America and the rest of the world could be looking at a scenario where a large and severe drought could seriously damage our food supply. In order to prevent such an event from happening, organizations are working together to encourage smart water management and a sturdy food supply chain.

The main takeaway from this is to remind readers how much is needed for agriculture and the possible problems that dependence can cause down the road.

Credits:

https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/drought-impact-study-california-agriculture-faces-greatest-water-loss-ever-seen

https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/jan/10/how-much-water-food-production-waste#data

https://thewaterproject.org/water-scarcity/water-scarcity-and-agriculture

http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/food_security.shtml