Agricultural Demand: How long can it keep up?

It's the year 2011, and there are about 6,900,201,659 people living on earth (U.S. Census Bureau). Aside from air, the two other most necessary things needed for human existence (water and food) are shared unevenly. Water as we know, cannot be produced. The best thing we can do is share it evenly. Food however is another story. This is where the agricultural industry comes into play. Agriculture has been the main source of food of our ancestors for thousands of years. The convenience of agriculture allowed large towns and cities to arise because of the assurance of food (unlike hunting). New techniques were being discovered as time progressed and agriculture had become more and more sustainable.

The ancient Egyptians relied on agriculture.

The industrial revolution brought a new player into the agricultural game. Chemicals and eventually genetic modification. These allowed plants to grow at unforeseen speeds and was able to suffice the sudden population boom. 

In the late 1700s, a British politician and economist named Thomas Malthus made what was a very bold statement at the time, saying that one day the world's population growth would over power the agricultural productivity causing global disaster. His theory has  since been called the "Malthusian Catastrophe".

Thomas Malthus

 In today's world there are many examples of food shortages. Africa is probably the most known one. The land in Africa is simply infertile or the climate is too harsh. In other countries the main agricultural issue is urban expansion. Acres of farm land each day destroyed and used to house the rapidly growing population. The EU has seen this as a problem and has directly began to address the farmers.  The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the European Union's driving force behind farmer support. About €55bn (2008) was spent to fund this initiative which accounts for about 40% of the EU's budget. This program gives farmers incentives to stay with their agricultural lifestyles rather than give up their farms. The EU is planning to direct more money into rural development to support the farmers and their trade. This gives us hope for the near future. The CAP is to be readdressed in 2013, and with today's food prices going up like mad, we will for sure see many positive changes involving agriculture!

Sources:
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/worldhis.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_malthus
http://ec.europa.eu/news/agriculture/081119_1_en.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture

Commented blogs:
http://philipsbiologyblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/genetically-enhanced-agriculture-step.html
http://nickabrams-nickabrams.blogspot.com/2011/02/change-in-way-food-is-produced.html