Editorial: Food water energy for all

Abstract

There is growing global anxiety about the future of planet earth. The unprecedented population growth currently over 7 billion and expected to grow to 10 billion begs the questions of will there be enough food to feed everybody, will there be enough water, energy and land to meet agricultural needs and will urban spaces be livable. Will we be able to prevent destruction of key ecosystems, natural forests, lakes, mountains and deserts? Food energy and water have emerged as a key concern for the future. The FAO has defined food security as �availability and access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet the dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life� (UN General Assembly 2010). We interpret energy and water security as access to clean, reliable and affordable energy to meet human needs and as access to water for human use (including drinking water and sanitation) and ecosystem services, respectively. The three resources are inextricably connected to each other. One could think of (solar) energy and water being responsible for �creation� of food as a resource through the process of photosynthesis, or for facilitating the growing of food through irrigation which requires electricity. The Future Earth global environmental change research program has highlighted the importance of thinking about these issues in a connected manner.