Population Growth and Food

Malthus is correct in his theory that the world’s population growth will be kept in check, but it will be more because of the death rates from infectious diseases than insufficient food supply. At this time there is enough food in the world to nourish its population, but people die of starvation and starvation-related diseases each year because of inequities in the food distribution system. Unless political and logistical obstacles to food distribution are resolved, this situation will continue. At this point in time, I believe that the decreasing supply of fresh, unpolluted drinking water will be the world’s “population policing” system. At the present time, “less than 1% of the Earth’s water is fit and available for human consumption” (Sustainability). The amount of fresh water available for human consumption is constant. Consequently, as population increases, the supply of fresh water per person declines. This results in an ever-decreasing amount of water available per person. Polluted water causes sickness and disease, and water is a major carrier of disease causing germs. Already, nearly half a billion people around the world face water shortages, and the problem will only grow worse.

This ties directly into one of the secondary impacts of increasing food production. Increased agriculture production means increased fertilizer use, which translates directly into increased pollutants contaminating the world’s watershed. In addition, increased agricultural production means more water being diverted for irrigation purposes. Also, increasing food production alone will not solve the inequities of distribution.

The best population control method available worldwide is the education of women. Educated women have a broader view of what their capabilities are and what opportunities are open to them economically. This allows women to make child-bearing decisions based at least in part on what they see in their future.
Studies have shown that “as much as 90% of the reason that women have families of a particular size is simply because that is the number of children they want. Where women gained education and rights, birth rates fell” (Horrid History).

Works Cited

“Horrid History”, from The Economist print edition, May 22, 2008, http://www.economist.com/books

“We Have Passed Our Sustainability”, Mark R Elsis, May 1, 2000, http://overpopulation.net/