Feeding the Ten Billion: Plants and Population Growth

by Lloyd T. Evans

Overview

At the current rate of increase, the world's population is likely to reach ten billion by the middle of the twenty-first century. What will be the challenges posed by feeding this population and how can they be addressed? Written to mark the 200th anniversary of the publication of Malthus' seminal Essay on the Principle of Population, this fascinating book looks at the intimate links between population growth and agricultural innovation over the past 10,000 years, illustrating how the evolution of agriculture has both shaped and been shaped by the course of world population growth. This historical context serves to illuminate our present position and to aid understanding of possible future paths to food security for the planet. This volume is a unique and accessible account that will be of interest to a wide audience concerned with global population, food supply, agricultural development, environmental degradation and resource depletion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521646857
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/05/1998
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.75(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction: timebomb or treadmill?; 2. Reaching five million (to 8000 BC); 3. Towards fifty million (8000 BC–2000 BC); 4. The first half billion (2000 BC–1500 AD); 5. The first billion (1500–1825); 6. The second billion (1825–1927); 7. The third billion (1927–1960); 8. The fourth billion (1960–1975); 9. The fifth billion (1975–1986); 10. The sixth billion (1986–1998); 11. What the world eats now; 12. Feeding the ten billion; Epilogue; References; Acronyms and abbreviations; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"I recommend this book highly to the academic community as we try collectively to understand the next 50 years in regard to food security and environmental sustainability...It is well referenced. Feeding the Ten Billion is a good reference for upper level courses on sustainability and should be on the shelf of those working and writing in agricultural sustainability." Soil Science

"Excellent...a very readable book which should be of interest to a wide audience, including teachers, students, policy-makers, advisers and the general public." Plant Growth Regulation

From the Publisher