Evening star., 1950-04-18
New Mouths to Be Fed

In cOllaDOraClOn WIN Lne EQucaLlOnal, Sclen-
tifc and Cultural Organization, the Food and
Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
has just launched year-long program designed
to promote international action on one of the
key problems of the second half of this century.
The problem can be stated simply enough in the
form of a question: How is the worlds rapidly
growing population going to have enough to eat
in the decades Immediately ahead?
AS matters stand today, food production is
insufficient to provide vast segments of humanity
with an adequate diet. Indeed in some regions
OF the globe, hunger and near starvation are
grim daily realities for tens OF millions OF indi-
viduals even though in our own country we have
huge farm surpluses. Yet, despite the fact that
there is thus too little to eat around the world
right now, the number of people on this planet is
increasing at the rate of $4,000 every "a hours,
which means in excess of 100000 year, or
more than 2oo,OOo,Oo0 per decade.
Stated another way. If the present trend
continues the next half century will add at
least billion more human beings to our present
numbers. Narrowing the prospect down to the
period between now and 1860, the new mouths
to be fed will grow to a total roughly equivalent
to the current population of North America or
the Soviet Union. Thus, according to an estimate
made by Sir Herbert Broadley of the FAO the
ducing by the end of this decade 10000 900 more
tons of cereals, $4,000 600 more tons of meat,
$50 1000 900 more tons of fruits and vegetables,
and IS 600 900 900 more gallons of milk than 1t is
producing today. Beyond that it must achieve
comparable production increases in the ensuing
decades. Otherwise, if output stands about where
it is, while mankind keeps on multiplying. there
will be a great catastrophe of hunger and
starvation.
Can the necessary additional food be raised?
The FAO-as represented by experts like Sir
Herbert and Director General Norris E. Dodd-is
confident that man can get what he needs from
the good earth. Leaving aside what atomic
energy may be able to do, the FAO's view is that
agricultural output can be expanded enormously
by means of such measures as introducing mod
ern farming techniques to backward areas, re-
cruiting science to increase the yield per acre,
reclaiming land lost through erosion, and open
ing up to cultivation vast temperate and tropical
regions never yet utilized to produce crops for
human beings.
Throughout the coming year, the new
UNESCO-FAO educational program will strive
to bring this problem home to governments and
peoples everywhere in an effort to organize an
effective international solution. The project is
a good and timely one Certainly, as long as
population continues to grow at its present pace,
the world must either step up its food production
or drift into situation that is bound to 60 from
bad to worse. The two U, N. agencies are render
ing an important service in undertaking to act
as prods on that score.
A new height of ostentation is the several"
in the account OF the swank apartment robbery:
Jewels and several mink coats were among the
loot"
We don't get 1t. musician dies after q
playing Of Tschaikowsky's "Pathetique": yet Spike
Jones' band records q Chinese version Of Mule
Train" and feels no pain