Winning the ‘No Food Loss’ Battle: The Case of Japan

Veena S. Kulkarni, PhD is Associate Professor, Department of Criminology, Sociology and Geography, Arkansas State University, USABy Veena S. KulkarniARKANSAS, Nov 20 2019 (IPS) Humankind since almost the time that there is recorded history has grappled with the question of ‘how many is too many?’ The response is expectedly complex as it varies across time and space. The pace of population growth was slow till about approximately 250 years or so. It is only since the middle of the eighteenth century that there has been a palpable acceleration in population growth. Veena S. KulkarniThe intervals in which we have added a billion has been consistently narrowing. It took only 12 years for the global population to increase from six billion to seven billion compared to the 123 years that passed between the first and second billion. Thus, an emerging concern is whether there are already too many to the detriment of our own survival? The latter narrative has been a dominant one till very recently and its genesis can be attributed to one of the most influential thinkers, Thomas Robert Malthus. Malthus in his Essay on the Principle of Population in 1798 posited the following. Population, if unchecked will grow geometrically and food supply will increase arithmetically. Malthus’s predictions garnered credence as they coincided with the periods of significant growth in the population, increase in deaths, spread of communicable diseases and famines in Europe and explorations of new ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Aid Economy & Trade Education Environment Food & Agriculture Food Sustainability Global Headlines Health Natural Resources Population Poverty & SDGs TerraViva United Nations Trade & Investment Barilla Center for Food and Nutrit Source Type: news