And what are the problems facing developing countries who are trying to feed large populations in difficult circumstances. Richard Black takes an in-depth look at the world of food production and investigates how the world's food is grown. Food is a central issue in the global economy. Purchasing decisions taken in western supermarkets dictate the wellbeing of farmers on the other side of the globe.
Food production has, in vast tracks of the world, become an industry rather than a craft.
It has dropped to less than half of what we spent 50 years ago, but it depends of course on who you are talking about. In places where the majority of people never feel soil in their hands and no-one goes short, food has been for many years been a lifestyle issue, almost a leisure activity rather than a necessity. If they want safe, high quality and inexpensive food they can purchase it from the large scale, industrial commodity producers. If on the other hand they want organic produce, free range chicken or locally grown fresh fruit and vegetables, they can buy that as well for a premium. It's not just in the US or Western Europe that things have changed.