For a study examining the issue of agriculture for food versus agriculture for energy see Wolf J, Bindraban PS , Luijten JC and Vleeshouwers LM (2003) Exploratory study on the land area required for global food supply and the potential global production of bioenergy, Agricultural Systems, Volume 76, Issue 3, June 2003.
This study examines the relationship between land requirements for agricultural food production and for the production of biomass for energy use. It considers whether there will be land available for both purposes in 2050, taking into account population growth.
Global food requirements were determined for three population growth scenarios and three kinds of diet, classed as moderate, vegetarian and affluent. The amount of food required to feed the in year 2050 was calculated according to these different conditions, and showed a fivefold variation in requirements.
Two different production systems were defined for calculating the global food Production potential. One, called the High External Input (HEI) system relied on mechanized operations, chemical fertiliser, pesticides and so forth. The second Low External Input system was based on the principles of minimising environmental risks and avoiding chemical and pesticide inputs.
The potential global production of biomass for energy use was calculated as the product of the area available once global agricultural requirements were met, and the mean biomass yield per hectare.
The study found that 55% of the present agricultural land area at the global scale would be needed for food production in the future (i.e. year 2050), if a high external input system of agriculture were applied and that under these conditions an 'affluent' diet would be available to all. The remaining 45% could be used for other purposes, such as biomass production. This would not be the case under LEI conditions; an 'affluent' diet would still be possible for all but no remaining land would be available for biomass production.
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