Jake Peterson for PlantOGram

In a past blog, we’ve already talked about why it’s important to plant a tree and the numerous benefits it’ll bring to your home.

Besides all these benefits, there are some diring, pressing needs to plant a fruit tree today.

Every year, the human population continues to grow quicker and quicker. Today, there are roughly 7 billion people alive and that number is expected to reach up to 9 billion within the next 40 years. That’s a lot of people!

Today, about a billion of those 7 billion are hungry or malnourished as a result of poverty or unequal distribution. With birth rates being the highest in countries with higher levels of poverty, the number of malnourished and underfed will continue to grow.

It’s safe to say that the world will need to keep producing food for everyone to stay well-nourished and healthy. Projections say that we will need to increase our crop production anywhere between 60 and 100 percent over this same time.

Why do we need to produce more food if the population is only going to increase by a third? Simply put: richer people consume more expensive and richer foods.

There are many things that we can do over this period to lessen the burden: changing diets, reducing food waste and monitoring the food we consume. All of these ideas are wonderful and necessary, but these are all big picture ideas that are not just implemented in a day.

Many crops around the world are stagnating and production is slowing. It’s not an easy task to just go find new areas to plant crops. That’s why we need to maximize the crops that are grown and reduce waste.

We could go on and on about all the benefits, scientific evidence and other factors but you can read more about that here.

One of the things you can do today is a combination of sorts of suggestions listed above: change your diet and start maximizing your food consumption.

One of the ways to do this is by eating more fruit and even better, eating more fruit grown by you! Planting a fruit tree is beneficial for the environment, your house and personal health and it’s a great way to be knowledgeable and responsible heading into the future. It’s a great way to start a new habit and do your part, no matter how small, to help our planet.

The time isn’t later this year, in five years or whenever: the best time to start helping is now. Head on over to our fruit tree page and find the right one for you.