5 Threats to Singapore's survival

1. Food crisis
Singapore is woely dependent on food imports to feed our rapidly growing population. Our population in 2010 stands at 5 million but set to grow to 6.5million. Based on AVA statistics, we import 97% of our chicken meat and 95% of our vegetables. As a result, we have virtually no buffer against any rise in global food prices due to freak weather conditions. Already, food prices have surged upwards twice in the last decade - once in 2008 and one still occurring right now in 2011.

The global climate crisis will tend to increase the frequency and ferocity of extreme weather events, leading to the spectre of rapidly increasing cost of living for Singaporeans.

Worse still, if climate change leads to serious food shortages, food-producing countries will cut food exports to Singapore in order to protect their own food prices and food supply. In such a situation, Singaporeans will literally learn the adage that "you can't eat money".

Diversifying our food sources should only be part of the solution as transport only adds to the cost and does little to buffer us from increases in global food prices. Buying farmland overseas can also help, but still leaves us at the mercy of other countries.

We need to look towards self-sufficiency of food. Incredible as it seems, with our limited land space, it is not impossible. Just look at how we are moving towards self-sufficiency of water.

For starters, we need to provide more government support for existing local farms, such as the vegetable farms in Lim Chu Kang and the fish farmers. For example, farm licences are valid for only 1 year, therefore depriving farmers of the certainty needed for making long-term investments in their farms.

Secondly, community farming should be encouraged. Such farms can be set up in the unused green spaces between buildings, buffer zones besides roads as well as below MRT train tracks. These farms also double up as excellent bonding opportunities for residents.

Thirdly, food wastage habits should be stamped out. According to Food Waste Republic.com, an excellent website on food waste in Singapore, we throw away 20% of our food. This wastage occurs all along the supply chain, from supermarkets which remove less than perfect fruits and vegetables, to bread stores which throw away daily leftover bread, to consumers who don't finish what is on their plates. Our society and corporations need to fundamentally change our attitude towards food in order to prepare ourselves for the day when we start to run out.

Fourthly, we should tap into our high tech research centres to develop ways of growing food in a lab eg. via tissue culture, as scientists in the Netherlands have done recently. By directly growing pure muscles from a single cell immersed in a broth of nutrients, the idea is to cut out the inefficiencies (not to mention cruelty) that go with rearing animals.

Fifth, we can stretch our imagination even further by exploring the use of our surrounding seas to grow seaweed and edible algae. The algae may be even used to produce biofuels.

Sixth, develop vertical farming eg. on windows of HDB flats or even entire blocks devoted to farming.

Certainly more ideas can be identified and explored, given the amount of intellectual talent in our country. However, Singapore must first wake up to this problem.

To be continued...the next 4 threats...