This week the Goole - Howden Courier printed a story about Peakfood, John Gossop and his book, Famine in the West:
FEARING for a future famine is Swinefleet Common farmer John Gossop.
John (62), who has farmed vegetables and wheat for 40 years, believes that by 2025 the western world will face a severe food shortage as it becomes more dependent on oil and gas.
And such is his worry that he has put his thoughts on paper and penned a book entitled Famine In The West.
John told the Courier: “I became concerned that the farming system was dependant on oil and gas which themselves are becoming more unreliable in the last five to six years. If we were without oil and gas then we would be without food.
“Climate change is causing droughts and floods, the population is increasing and all this will eventually cause tremendous food shortages.”
He said: “In the book I’ve used 2025 as an example of when we really might see the problems - by then we will have a population of eight billion compared to six billion now. We could be looking at considerable shortages by then.
“When we come to next year’s harvest the carry over stocks will be lower than ever before and if we have droughts caused by climate change, such as in America, we could be in trouble straight away.”
The book, which took four to five months to put together, aims to raise awareness about the problems so solutions can be found.
“One way would be the introduction of a heavy carbon tax instead of income tax to try and drive innovation so people find ways of using less oil and gas,” he added.
Copies of Famine in the West, priced at £6.49 plus £1.49 postage and packing are available on 01430 410521.
John has also set up the web site www.peakfood.co.uk.