crop plants

[David Walker]

S A Croft wrote:
> 
> It has been suggested to me that there are enough crop plants grown
> world-wide to feed the entire population of the Earth, and the only
> reason that food shortages occur are due to distribution problems.
> Does anyone know of a study or paper to back this idea up, or any
> suggestions for how long the current rate of food production
> could sustain an ever increasing population if these distribution
> problems were properly addressed?
> Stuart Croft
> Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
> University of Sheffield.

Putting aside water, the problem is not one of crop plants or 
distribution as such but of energy. Western agriculture is a very 
inefficient means of converting fossil fuels into food. Less 
sophisticated agriculture cannot meet the demand. Fossil fuels are 
finite, World population growth is still growing at about 
300,000/day. Malthus had it about right. See:-
http://www.asu.edu./clas/photosyn/books/walkerbk.html