Population and Food: Global Trends and Future Prospects

The world's population is expected to grow by about 2.2 billion people between now and the year 2020. There is no doubt that feeding these extra mouths represents the principal challenge currently facing the global system of agricultural production and trade. Population and Food examines recent trends in food production and assesses the prospects for feeding humanity up to the twenty-first century. Synthesizing a mass of statistical data and drawing on case material from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, North America and the Middle East, the book suggests that food production in most world regions has kept ahead of population growth. Considering likely future trends in climate, land resources, water availability, trading patterns, farm inputs and technological innovation, the author argues that there should be no insurmountable problems in meeting the world's food demand to the year 2020 and questions the current pessimism voiced about future food prospects.