Farmers today can grow two to three times as much grain, fruit, and vegetables on a plot of land as they could 50 years ago, but the nutritional quality of many crops has declined, according to a new report from The Organic Center, a group based in Boulder, Colorado.

Biofuels like ethanol can help reduce global warming and create jobs for the rural poor, but the benefits may be offset by serious environmental problems and increased food prices for the hungry, the U.N. said Tuesday in its first major report on bioenergy.

China is losing vast amounts of arable land every year to erosion, pollution, heavy metals, and excessive fertilizer use.

Report by the US Deptartment of Agriculture discussing global land degradation issues.  This paper contains a number of helpful graphs.