Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
22
World Population and
Food Availability
Shahla Shapouri and Stacey Rosen
contents
Abstract .................................................................................................................. 361
Trend in Population Growth................................................................................... 362
Trend in Global Food Availability ......................................................................... 363
Adequacy of Food .................................................................................................. 367
Performance of Components of Food Consumption: Production, Trade, and
Food Aid................................................................................................................. 367
Trends in Food Production ................................................................................ 368
Role of Trade in Food Availability .................................................................... 370
Role of Food Aid ............................................................................................... 370
Food Availability Oulook in the Context of Emerging Issues ............................... 371
Nutrition Outlook .............................................................................................. 372
Food Production Outlook .................................................................................. 373
Food Trade Outlook .......................................................................................... 375
Conclusions............................................................................................................ 376
Study Topics ...................................................................................................... 377
References.............................................................................................................. 378
AbstRAct
Through the twentieth century, population grew at an unprecedented rate. During
this time, developing countries transitioned to low death rates, thereby fueling global
population growth. In developed countries, birth rates and death rates generally
declined at the same rate, leading to nearly stagnating population growth rates. As
a result of this difference in growth paths, 80% of the population growth since 1900
has taken place in developing countries, particularly in the world's poorer coun-
tries. During the last century, growth in global food production surpassed popula-
tion growth, leading to an overall improvement in per capita food consumption at
the aggregate level. In developing countries, the key factors that influenced diets
were income growth and urbanization; these factors led to increased demand for
higher-value farm products, such as animal proteins, fruits, and vegetables. During
1970 to 2005, daily per capita calorie availability in developing countries increased
361
