Technology and War; Food Security
PART 1: The Evolution of Technology in War
The history of armies can be traced back to the periods when bows and arrows or spears first appeared, although that of war and warfare extends back to during the beginning of first human civilization. Arguably, however, technological advancements have resulted in the invention and development of unmanned bomb-carrying vehicles, laser-guided weapons, faster airplanes, robotics, etc.; and which have, in turn, shaped and reshaped how we fight wars (Chow, 2013). The history of military technology has come a long way, from the Greek fires, Gun powder, mechanized warfare, nuclear technology, drone war, etc.
In the future, we are likely to witness robots and robot-driven locomotives, and hi-tech military complex consisting of hydrogen bombs, sophisticated and artificial intelligence-powered command networks, soldier lethality, long-range precision fires, future vertical lifts, and next-generation vehicles (socialmonsters.org, 2018). The global arms race drives the pressing need for nations to modernize and post-modernize their military technologies. Despite the inherently obvious need for states to invent newer technologies for stopping wars, such a strategy has always been counterproductive, given its many negative consequences.
Military technology has always been on the dark side of innovation and invention. The reality goes against the belief of countless military technology inventors and innovators like Robert Boyle and Alfred, who argued that they would have positive results. They stated that the invention of an ultimate weapon that no one would dare to use would help by stopping or limiting the excessive use of war (Roland, 2009). However, their argument has partly led to the constant search for the ultimate war-stopper. We are currently in the 6TH decade into the nuclear age without any positive results.
Although the hydrogen bomb is a lethal weapon, it could also prove to be a futile effort in the search, as it might exacerbate war rather than serve the purpose of altering human nature. Thus, Thucydides often believed that human nature is responsible for wars. Melvin Kranzberg thought that technology is neutral, rather than being good or bad, and only serves as a process that humans use to manipulate the material world to serve their purposes. Furthermore, Roland (2009) proposes that military technology (1) shapes warfare while war shapes it; (2) is never deterministic; (3) is a door opener; and (4) in the modern sense, is different, although it has always been at work.
Similarly, Boot (200), reviewed over 500 years of history and technological revolution, and categorized it into the advent of the gunpowder, the steam engine (first industrial revolution), the combustion engine (second industrial revolution), and the information revolution. He notes that new technology has helped governments with well-organized structures to emerge as dominant powers within the international system (Boot, 2006). The rise in defensive technology, particularly during the nuclear age, has drastically changed war strategies that states employ, i.e., from physical waging of force to its demonstration of military superiority through a series of advanced military technology innovations and intelligence (Chin, 2019).
In a drastic shift from the previous application of technology to both destroy cities and drive fears through resisting armies by staging annihilations, current military technology features silent waging of wars (Madrigal, 2018). Hypersonic missiles will be traveling in speeds that are five times that of sound, thus, evading detection at interception. War will continue to be here as long as resource grabs, territorial disputes, and trade wars continue to permeate the international system. The biggest problem is that future warfare will be based on deadlier technologies and will be fought on every front, from social media platforms like Facebook to space. Reliance on technologies like Big Data analytics, computation, communication, ubiquitous sensors, Anti-ballistic missiles, etc. could be put to better use to prevent some of the wars.
References
Boot, M. (2006, October 26). War Made New: The History and Future of Technology and Warfare. Retrieved May 24, 2020, from Brookings: https://www.brookings.edu/events/war-made-new-the-history-and-future-of-technology-and-warfare/
Chin, W. (2019, July 1). Technology, war, and the state: past, present, and future. International Affairs, 95(4), 765–783.
Chow, D. (2013, November 19). 7 Technologies that Transformed Warfare. Retrieved May 24, 2020, from Livescience: https://www.livescience.com/41321-military-war-technologies.html
Madrigal, A. C. (2018, December 11). The Grim Future of Urban Warfare. Retrieved May 24, 2020, from The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/12/technology-will-make-war-even-worse/577723/
Roland, A. (2009, February 27). War and Technology. Retrieved May 24, 2020, from The Foreign Policy Research Institute: https://www.fpri.org/article/2009/02/war-and-technology/
socialmonsters.org. (2018, January 30). A Brief History of Modern Warfare Technology: From Gunpowder to Drones. Retrieved May 24, 2020, from Technology.org: https://www.technology.org/2018/01/30/a-brief-history-of-modern-warfare-technology-from-gunpowder-to-drones/
PART 2: Feeding the World
Food has become part of humans, and other living organisms, since their creation. In other words, it is connected to our existence. Any form of unavailability or inaccessibility of food would lead to starvation. Massive starvation may give way to famine, which may have a devastating consequence on the population. Many people think that extreme hunger and malnutrition can only lead to a bony frame, bulging stomach, and lack of energy to perform daily activities, hence minimizing the productivity of a population. However, it also has a devastating consequence on our general developmental domain; it makes us more susceptible to chronic illness and often leads to death. The fact means that a larger section of the 37 million Americans currently facing hunger could die if the situation worsens.
Consequently, food has received much recognition from social and physical sciences because it acts as an interface between the social and natural world. Unfortunately, at least a quarter of the current 7.5 billion people roaming the planet are malnourished, while a further I billion people are chronically hungry (Huston, 2017). The current trend indicates that by the year 2050, when the total global population is expected to be 9.7 billion, there will hardly be enough food to consume if the current rate of food production is not increased by between 25% and 70%. This is although there is currently enough food to feed 10 billion inhabitants (Sundaram, 2018). Thus, it would be critical to minimize food wastage and maximize food distribution processes. Globally, food supply [production and distribution] have often featured an intricate pattern of relationships. Geographically, the global food supply is often connected to poverty. There exist an unequal relationship of food supply between developed and undeveloped worlds concerning its innovation, production, transportation, retail, and consumption. Such geospatial inequality in global food systems is growing.
Geographic factors like climate, altitude, and proximity to urban areas, water bodies, or infrastructures like transportation networks have also been observed to affect food production and distribution. Thus, different foods have been originating from different countries. For instance, statistical trends indicate that countries in Oceania, Central America, and Africa do not produce more of any food type than others from other regions. European countries are producers of fish, milk, fish, and barley, while countries from North America are substantial producers of coarsest grains, wheat, dairy, fish, and meat. Asian countries are generally the greatest producers of fish, milk, meat, cereal crops (wheat and rice), and sugar (The BBC, 2020).
Furthermore, North American and European countries are also the least undernourished (below 5% and the biggest consumers of more calories than other nations. Thus, apart from governments investing more in logistics to ensure maximum food production and distribution to the vulnerable, wealthier nations must also provide low-income countries with enough technical and budgetary assistance. Furthermore, each country should optimize the production of foods that its geographical system can support. For instance, countries located in theory belts of North Africa, Asia, and Central America could specialize in the production of drought-resistant crops like sorghum and millet. The biggest challenge, however, is to transport the produce and ensure that they reach the consumers while fresh and undamaged (Huston, 2017). This calls for governments to invest more in transportation systems while ensuring the affordability of containers, cold-rooms, refrigerators, and minimization of bureaucracy, inefficiency, and corruption within the supply chain.
References
Huston, T. (2017, September 13). How Do We Feed The Planet In 2050? Retrieved May 24, 2020, from Guardian News & Media Limited: https://www.theguardian.com/preparing-for-9-billion/2017/sep/13/population-feed-planet-2050-cold-chain-environment
Sundaram, J. K. (2018, July 11). The World Produces Enough Food To Feed Everyone. So Why Do People Go Hungry? Retrieved May 24, 2020, from World Economic Forum: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/07/the-world-produces-enough-food-to-feed-everyone-so-why-do-people-go-hungry
The BBC. (2020). Food Security – A Global Concern. Retrieved May 24, 2020, from The BBC – Bitesize: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z23cp39/revision/1