...since the industrial production of meat wastes too many resources...

Don't have to go to a pure vegan diet, but start cutting back on meat intake.

True food security comes from food sovereignty - localized food production under the full control of local farmers. This exactly what the current definitions of "economic growth" threaten, by forcing small farmers (especially rural women) off the land, through preferential legislative support for big ag, and by permitting the dumping of cheap foreign food into local markets, thereby driving down the prices for local food producers.

Until there is a big - no, make that enormous - change in global economic and legislative practices, food security will remain an ever-receding mirage.

Argument by poorly defined arcs, that is. I hope the scientists at the conference can hone more concrete solutions.

The sheer quantity of wastage for essentially cosmetic & profitability reasons
is truly appalling.

Don't even bother thinking about GM food, agrochemical enhancements or
other manufactured-for-profit responses until that obscenity has been addressed.

Yes, cut down the meat intake/production (outlaw factory farming of any animal)
and move to more healthy alternatives but PLEASE address this disgusting waste
of food, energy & materials as a priority as it will take a lot of pressure off the
other aspects.

Shorten the distance between farmers and eaters as much as possible;
Give food production back to small farmers;
Stop cutting big agribusiness so many sweetheart deals in legislatures;
Re-introduce farmers' markets everywhere with bans on non-family-farmed food.

But especially:

Encourage community gardens everywhere that plants can be grown, above all in inner cities. If there are municipal ordinances against them, start work immediately to get them repealed. That includes ordinances against small-scale animal husbandry (chickens, rabbits and goats) within city limits.

I'm suddenly realizing I'm absolutely passionate about this issue. Take a look at how Cuba survived being cut off from Russia's oil supply in 1989 - if it hadn't been for the government's encouragement of universal urban gardening many, many people would have starved to death. Now remember that the world has hit peak oil without any preparation whatsoever. What are the implications for the people living in our cities unless we do the same thing?

Detroit is apparently already a laboratory for this. I heard scholar and community activist Charles Simmons speaking last weekend about the situation in Detroit. He compared the situation in the inner city to Greece. Fresh food is by and large not available, most food is the unfood that's being sold in liquor stores. But they now have 1200 community gardens that will be feeding people this summer, and more are on the way.

I suspect this is urgent. We need to get practiced at this, because it takes a couple of seasons to learn how to garden. But even before that, we need to make sure it's legal in our areas. The last thing we want is bureaucrats coming around and uprooting the arugula.

This is something we as individual citizens can do something about for ourselves, without waiting for anyone above us to clue in. It's critical, and the time to start is now.