This post originally appeared on Agri-Pulse.
Editor's Note: Agri-Pulse and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs are teaming up to host a monthly column to explore how the U.S. agriculture and food sector can maintain its competitive edge and advance food security in an increasingly integrated and dynamic world.
By Ken Blight, Board Member, National Cattlemen's Beef Association
How often do you think about food security? It's probably an issue that seldom crosses most Americans' minds. Most of us in the U.S. agriculture community have been inundated in recent years with articles asking questions along the lines of “will farmers be able to meet the challenge of feeding the projected 9.7 billion world population by 2050?”
The generosity of the United States in combating hunger around the globe in the last century is something we can all be proud of. America's land grant university system and research and development projects funded through USDA have been pivotal in reducing world hunger numbers from 1 billion in 1990 to 795 million in 2015, despite the fact that the world's population has increased by 1.7 billion over the same period.
Over the last 150 years, federal funding for agricultural research and extension services has been instrumental in helping American farmers attain their current level of productivity. For example, research that has led to improved animal genetics, better nutrition achieved through livestock feed rations, and introduced use of growth promotants have enabled U.S. hog farmers to enjoy a more than 40 percent improvement in swine feeding efficiency, from an average from 4.4 pounds of feed per pound of weight gain in 1961 down to needing only 2.59 pounds of feed in 2012. Progress in cattle and poultry production has produced similar results.