Technology to produce food without land, what will happen with the land next?
Let's say we have the technology to produce all of the human food in factories without the need for land (i.e. Solarfood, Memphis Meats). Right now, there is about 50% of all habitable land use for agriculture. Also, let's assume we have more advanced technologies to produce our energy needs (fusion reactors + renewables) so we don't need to "cultivate fuel" as we are doing right now with corn and rapeseed.
It would be great if most of this land would be protected to reduce mass species extinctions. However, humanity is often foolish and it would certainly go in another direction. Landowners would still own their land and would certainly try to make a living out of it in a different manner and I don't see governments agreeing on a world protection program.
Anyway, what would happen with the freed land??
Thanks for your feedback!
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1 answer
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
Unlimited food!!
Unlimited energy!!
Woo hoo!!!
(What do you mean it's not really unlimited? Shush, you're harshing my feel, or whatever the kids say these days.)
Look at that piece of flat perfect land over there. No rocks, no trees, no muddy swamps. Let's turn it into more housing. We need more housing, now that we have unlimited food and energy, people are having more babies. We gotta put them somewhere.
That field behind it is a school. Oh and over there, the new shopping center. Unlimited fuel (fusion, wind, geothermal, solar) means all those fossil fuels we used to burn for food are available cheap for plastic! And now we have space for the factories, people who need jobs, and unlimited fuel!
We need tons and tons of parking lots. With all that cheap and environmentally safe fuel, we can drive anywhere. Who needs public transport or even taxis? Autonomous driving means even the kids get their own car.
So build all that new housing with extra parking spaces, and charging spaces. And some tracks to have fun. Parking by every school and store. And big wide roads. Asphalt used to cost something but now it's super cheap because we don't need all that petroleum for fuel.
Oh hey there are some old fields by that parkland. More room for parking lots! Gotta get out and see nature, right?
You want the old farmland to go wild you say? Sure, let's find some fields where no one wants to live. Birds are good. Deer are good. As long as they're not in my flower garden ya-know-what-I-mean. And as long as it's not my old field you're taking over. Unless you want to buy it. Same price as a parking lot.
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