352 CHAPTER 14 Agriculture and Food Resources
Year1970 1980 1990 2000 20100.81.21.62.02.4Total grain production (billion tons)^300360310320340
330350370380390400Year1970 1980 1990 2000 2010Per-capita grain production (kg)
Adapted from FAO data. Data through 2009 reported inVital Signs 2010. Washington, DC:
Worldwatch Institute (2010). Adapted from FAO data. Data through 2009 reported inVital Signs 2010. Washington, DC:
Worldwatch Institute (2010).a. Total world grain production increased from 1.1 billion
tons in 1970 to more than 2.3 billion tons in 2011.
b. The amount of grain produced per person has not
changed significantly in the past 40 years.Poverty and Food
The main cause of undernutrition is poverty. Infants,
children, and the elderly are most susceptible to poverty
and chronic hunger. The world’s poorest people—those
living in developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin
America—do not own land on which to grow food and
do not have sufficient money to purchase food. Poverty
and hunger are not restricted to developing nations, how-
ever; poor hungry people are also found in the United
States, Europe, and Australia.
World food problems are many, as are their solutions.
We must increase the sustainable production of food
(discussed later in the chapter) and improve food distri-
bution. Highly developed nations can provide economic
assistance and technical aid to help farmers in develop-
ing countries produce more food. Globally, chronic hun-
ger will persist so long as the human population remains
above the level that the environment can support.- What is the difference between
undernutrition and overnutrition? Where
is each type of malnutrition most prevalent
in the world? - What is food insecurity and how does it
relate to human population, poverty, and
world hunger?
countries), floods, droughts, and soil erosion from hilly,
marginal farmlands. People with food insecurity always
live under the threat of starvation.
Experts agree that world hunger, population, pov-
erty, and environmental problems are interrelated, but
they disagree on the relative importance of each factor.
Different groups propose differ-
ent solutions for resolving the
world’s food problems, including
controlling population growth,
promoting the economic devel-
opment of countries that do not
produce adequate food, and cor-
recting the inequitable distribu-
tion of resources. All experts
agree that population pressures exacerbate world food
problems.
Although annual grain production almost doubled
from 1970 to 2011 (Figure 14.2), the world popula-
tion increased so rapidly during that period that the
amount of grain per person has not changed appre-
ciably. By 2050, farmers will have to grow almost 30
percent more grain than they do now so that the 9.3
billion people living then—the median projection—
can be fed.
Currently, the amount of available grain per per-
son varies greatly from one country to another; in the
United States, it is about 1.2 metric tons (1.3 tons) per
person, most of which is fed to livestock, whereas in
Zimbabwe, it is about 90 kg (200 lb) per person.
economic
development
An expansion in a
region’s or country’s
economy, viewed by
many as the best way
to raise the standard
of living.Total world grain production and grain production per person, 1970 to 2011
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