Food Production, Population Growth, and Environmental Security

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Paper No. 21.98

10 Pages Posted: 17 Sep 1998

See all articles by Gretchen Daily

Gretchen Daily

Stanford University - Department of Biology

Partha Dasgupta

University of Cambridge - Faculty of Economics and Politics; The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences - Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics

Bert Bolin

Stockholm University

Pierre Crosson

Resources for the Future

Jacques du Guerny

United Nations - Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Paul Ehrlich

Stanford University - Department of Biology

Carl Folke

Stockholm University

AnnMari Jansson

Stockholm University

Bengt-Owe Jansson

Stockholm University

Nils Kautsky

Stockholm University - Department of Systems Ecology

Ann Kinzig

Arizona State University (ASU) - Department of Biology

Simon Levin

Princeton University - Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Karl-Goran Maler

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences - Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics

Per Pinstrup-Andersen

Cornell University - Department of Economics; International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Domenico Siniscalco

Ministry of Economy and Finance, Italy; Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei; University of Turin - Department of Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Brian Walker

CSIRO, Mathematical and Information Science

Date Written: March 1998

Abstract

There are two broad criteria by which one can judge humanity's success in feeding itself: (i) the proportion of people whose access to basic nutritional requirements is secure; and (ii) the extent to which global food production is sustainable. Even though the two are related, they have usually been discussed separately in popular writings. This has had unfortunate consequences. Writings on (ii) have often encouraged readers to adopt an all-or-nothing position (viz. the future will be either rosy or catastrophic), and this has drawn attention away from the economic misery that is endemic in large parts of the world today. On the other hand, writings on (i) have frequently yielded no more than the catechism that the nearly 1 billion people in poor countries who go to bed hungry each night do so because they are extremely poor. In short, if (ii) has focused on aggregate food production and its prospects for the future, (i) in contrast has isolated food-distribution failure as a cause of world hunger. In this article we will adopt the view that (i) and (ii) should not be studied separately, that their link can be understood if attention is paid to the dynamic interactions between ecological and economic systems operating primarily at the geographically localised level.

JEL Classification: O10, Q28, Q38

Suggested Citation

Daily, Gretchen and Dasgupta, Partha and Bolin, Bert and Crosson, Pierre and du Guerny, Jacques and Ehrlich, Paul and Folke, Carl and Jansson, AnnMari and Jansson, Bengt-Owe and Kautsky, Nils and Kinzig, Ann and Levin, Simon and Maler, Karl-Goran and Pinstrup-Andersen, Per and Siniscalco, Domenico and Walker, Brian, Food Production, Population Growth, and Environmental Security (March 1998). Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Paper No. 21.98, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=128269 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.128269

Gretchen Daily (Contact Author)

Stanford University - Department of Biology ( email )

Gilbert Building, Rm 109
371 Serra Mall
Stanford, CA 94305
United States

Partha Dasgupta

University of Cambridge - Faculty of Economics and Politics ( email )

Austin Robinson Building
Sidgwick Avenue
Cambridge, CB3 9DD
United Kingdom

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences - Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
P.O. Box 50005
S-104 05 Stockholm, SE-104 05
SWEDEN

Bert Bolin

Stockholm University

Dept. of Meteorology
S-106 91 Stockholm
Sweden

Pierre Crosson

Resources for the Future

1616 P Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
United States
Not Available (Phone)
Not Available (Fax)

Jacques Du Guerny

United Nations - Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Rome, Lazio 00100
ITALY
Not Available (Phone)
Not Available (Fax)

Paul Ehrlich

Stanford University - Department of Biology ( email )

Gilbert Building, Rm 109
371 Serra Mall
Stanford, CA 94305
United States
Not Available (Phone)
Not Available (Fax)

Carl Folke

Stockholm University ( email )

Dept. of Systems Ecology
S-106 91 Stockholm
Sweden

AnnMari Jansson

Stockholm University ( email )

Dept. of Systems Ecology
S-106 91 Stockholm
Sweden

Bengt-Owe Jansson

Stockholm University ( email )

Dept. of Systems Ecology
S-106 91 Stockholm
Sweden

Nils Kautsky

Stockholm University - Department of Systems Ecology ( email )

SE-106 91 Stockholm
Sweden
+46 (0)8 164251 (Phone)

Ann Kinzig

Arizona State University (ASU) - Department of Biology ( email )

Tempe, AZ
United States
480-965-6838 (Phone)

Simon Levin

Princeton University - Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology ( email )

Princeton, NJ 08544
United States
Not Available (Phone)
Not Available (Fax)

Karl-Goran Maler

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences - Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics ( email )

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
P.O. Box 50005
S-104 05 Stockholm, SE-104 05
SWEDEN

Per Pinstrup-Andersen

Cornell University - Department of Economics ( email )

414 Uris Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-7601
United States

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

1201 Eye St, NW,
Washington, DC 20005
United States
Not Available (Phone)
Not Available (Fax)

Domenico Siniscalco

Ministry of Economy and Finance, Italy ( email )

Via XX Settembre 97
Rome, Rome 00187
Italy

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei ( email )

Corso Magenta 63
20123 Milan
Italy
+39 02 5203 6942 (Phone)
+39 02 5203 6946 (Fax)

University of Turin - Department of Economics ( email )

Via Po, 53
Torino, 10124
Italy

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.CESifo.de

Brian Walker

CSIRO, Mathematical and Information Science ( email )

Lyneham, Australian Capital Territory 2602
Australia
Not Available (Phone)
Not Available (Fax)

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