Population and Food Production

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------------------------------------------------- Population and Food Production ------------------------------------------------- Unit 2 Jessica Moreland-Harmon Global Management issues (ma-445-vc-2013spr) 6-12-2013 Table of Contents Thesis3 Facts to support thesis4 Assumptions5 Implications10 Discussion11 Conclusion12 Thesis As the third millennium begins, human population has exceeded 6 billion people. Population momentum will guarantee a continued population growth for the next two or three decades in spite of worldwide declines in the total fertility rate. Approximately 99% of this growth will take place in the less developed areas of the world, that is, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Meanwhile, the area of greatest food production is North America, the least populated of the developed areas of the world. A rising world population, affluence, and shifts in Western dietary habits will increase global demand for food by 50% by 2030 and some 1.4 billion people will lack access to safe drinking water. (Tucker, Patrick) A country's ability to feed itself greatly depends on three factors: availability of arable land, accessible water and population pressures. The more people there are, especially in poor countries with limited amounts of land and water, the fewer resources there are to meet basic needs. If basic needs cannot be met, development stalls and economies begin to unravel. In some poor countries, attempts to increase food production and consumption are undermined by rapid population growth; migration from rural to urban areas; unequal land distribution; shrinking landholdings; deepening rural poverty; and widespread land degradation. Facts to support thesis The food crisis equation has three main components. First, life-styles, incomes and social organization determine levels of consumption. Second, the technologies in use

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