Population Growth and World Food Supplies

The alarming and incessant growth of the population is causing serious economic problems on almost all continents. Great pressure is being placed on arable land, water, energy, and biological resources. As the world population grows, the food problem will become increasingly severe. The most vulnerable will be the population in developing countries. The per capita availability of food grains has been declining for the past 25 years. Certainly, With a quarter million people being added to the world population each day, the need for grains and all other food will reach unprecedented levels.

There are about a quarter of a million people added to the planet per day. This exponential growth is mostly happening in developing nations.
More than 99 per cent of the world's food supply comes from the land, while less than 1 per cent is from oceans and other aquatic habitats. The continued production of an adequate food supply is directly dependent on ample fertile land, fresh water and energy. As the human population grows, the requirements for these resources also grow. Even if these resources are never depleted, on a per capita basis they will decline significantly because they must be divided among more people. At present, fertile agricultural land is being lost at an alarming rate. The shortage of productive fertile land combined with decreasing land productivity is the major cause of current food shortages.

Water is another critical item for all crops. A massive amount of water is required during the growing season for cultivation. Agriculture production consumes more fresh water than any other human activity. In many countries, people are facing a shortage of fresh water. Competition for water resources among individuals, regions, countries and associated human activities is already occurring with the current world population. Water resources, critical for irrigation, are under great stress as populous cities, states, and countries require and withdraw more water from rivers, lakes, and aquifers every year. A major threat to maintaining future water supplies is the continuing over-use of surface and groundwater resources.

Fossil energy is another prime resource used for food production. Nearly 80 per cent of the world's fossil energy is being used by developed countries. The intensive farming technologies of the developed countries use massive amounts of fossil energy for fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, and machines as a substitute for human labour. In developing countries, fossil energy has been used primarily for fertilizers and irrigation to help maintain yields rather than to reduce human labour inputs. Because fossil energy is a finite resource. its depletion accelerates as population needs for food and services escalate. Thus, the cost of fuel increases everywhere.