Enough food for everyone?

1 Work in pairs. How many times have you eaten the things in the photos in the past week? Compare your answers.

2 Read and listen to the article. Match the headings with the correct paragraphs.

ENOUGH FOOD FOR EVERYONE?

A There are currently around 7.7 billion people on our planet, and 800 million of them don’t have enough to eat. Experts predict a rise in population to 10 billion by 2050, so is there any way we will be able to feed all those extra mouths?
When 37 experts in the fields of farming, food and climate change came together to consider this question, their answer was ‘yes’, but only if we eat less of some common foods and more of others.

B Their ‘Planetary Health Diet’ shows how much of each food group (meat, dairy products, vegetables, etc.) we could eat each week and have enough for everyone. Because it is based on proportions of food groups rather than specific foods, everyone can adapt it to eat the things they like best or to suit their cultural traditions.
You can even find websites with special menus based on the diet, to show that it doesn’t need to be difficult or boring to follow.

C However, it would mean major changes for most of us. Although it would not be necessary to follow a completely vegan or even vegetarian diet, it allows only one glass of milk or a small piece of cheese a day and only one serving of red meat a week. Half of each meal would be vegetables and fruit. The rest of our protein would come from a handful of nuts or a portion of legumes (things like soya beans or lentils).
Nobody would need to go hungry though, with up to 2,500 calories a day for everyone. Grains are important part of the diet, so we could eat two or three slices of bread as well as plenty of rice or pasta.

D You might not like only being allowed one burger or one egg a week, but on the other hand, it might make us healthier. In a world where so many of us have illnesses caused by poor eating habits, the authors of the Planetary Health Diet claim it could prevent 11 million deaths a year. One reason for this is that the diet also contains much less sugar than most of us currently eat, which doctors believe would lead to a reduction in diabetes and heart disease.
However other scientists say that the idea that there is international agreement in the area of food and nutrition is false, and they think the scientific basis for the diet is weak. They are particularly worried that it encourages a low-fat diet, which modern research shows is not as healthy as we once believed.

3 Read and listen to the article again. Mark the statements True, False or Doesn’t say.

4  SPEAKING  Would you be happy with the Planetary Health Diet? Give your reasons. Then prepare one statement in favour of the diet and one statement against it.

1 Read the statements. How much do you agree with each one? Write a number 1–5
(1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).

1 Very rich people should give a lot of money to poor people. [latex]\Box[/latex]
2 It is wrong to eat more than you need when other people are hungry. [latex]\Box[/latex]
3 I always share things like sweets and chocolate with my friends. [latex]\Box[/latex]
4 Some people will always have more than others – that’s just life. [latex]\Box[/latex]
5 Societies are better when people are more equal. [latex]\Box[/latex]
6 Being generous is one of the most important qualities for a friend. [latex]\Box[/latex]

2  SPEAKING  Work in pairs. Compare and discuss your ideas with a partner.

3  SPEAKING  Discus these questions.

1 Complete these sentences from the article above. Then complete the rules.

2 Complete the phrases with the words in the list.

3 Choose the correct options.

4 Add a where it is needed in these sentences.