{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"80,000 Hours Podcast","title":"#50 - David Denkenberger on how to feed all 8b people through an asteroid/nuclear winter","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":10635,"description":"If an asteroid impact or nuclear winter blocked the sun for years, our inability to grow food would result in billions dying of starvation, right? According to Dr David Denkenberger, co-author of Feeding Everyone No Matter What: no. If he's to be believed, nobody need starve at all.\r\n\r\nEven without the sun, David sees the Earth as a bountiful food source. Mushrooms farmed on decaying wood. Bacteria fed with natural gas. Fish and mussels supported by sudden upwelling of ocean nutrients - and more.\r\n\r\nDr Denkenberger is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and he's out to spread the word that while a nuclear winter might be horrible, experts have been mistaken to assume that mass starvation is an inevitability. In fact, the only thing that would prevent us from feeding the world is insufficient preparation.\r\n\r\n∙ Links to learn more, summary and full transcript\r\n\r\nNot content to just write a book pointing this out, David has gone on to found a growing non-profit - the Alliance to Feed the Earth in Disasters (ALLFED) - to prepare the world to feed everyone come what may. He expects that today 10% of people would find enough food to survive a massive disaster. In principle, if we did everything right, nobody need go hungry. But being more realistic about how much we're likely to invest, David thinks a plan to inform people ahead of time could save 30%, and a decent research and development scheme 80%.\r\n\r\n∙ 80,000 Hours' updated article on How to find the best charity to give to\r\n∙ A potential donor evaluates ALLFED\r\n\r\nAccording to David's published cost-benefit analyses, work on this problem may be able to save lives, in expectation, for under $100 each, making it an incredible investment. \r\n\r\nThese preparations could also help make humanity more resilient to global catastrophic risks, by forestalling an ‘everyone for themselves' mentality, which then causes trade and civilization to unravel.\r\n\r\nBut some worry that David's cost-effectiveness...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/VO1STE7hN95RRg9QdLo4soV2VhhbR9PF5ZZlRhDYcwE/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzQxNDAyLzE2ODM1/NDQ1NDAtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}