Food Race: Difference between revisions

The idea that human population is tied to food supply is contentious, however. Many biologists disagree with Quinn's assessment. While food supply certainly imposes an upper limit on population growth, they point out that culture, living standards, human intelligence, and free will can impose lower, secondary limits to population growth. Critics also point out that the most significant population growth is occurring in the Third World, where regional food production is lowest. Meanwhile, the [[First World]], where food is most plentiful, is undergoing a decline in birth rates. Quinn has suggested this results from international food distribution and has claimed that the farms of the First World fuel population growth in the Third. United Nations projections that [[world population]] will level off sometime in the near future also contradict Quinn's statements. In November 1998, Daniel Quinn made a video exploring these topics with Dr. Alan Thornhill of the Society for Conservation Biology, entitled, ''Food Production And Population Growth''. Russell Hopfenberg has written at least two papers attempting to prove Quinn's ideas, one paper with David Pimentel entitled "Human Population Numbers as a Function of Food Supply" and another, "Human Carrying Capacity is Determined by Food Availability".<ref>{{Cite web|title = Publications|url = http://www.panearth.org/publications.htm|website = www.panearth.org|accessdate = 2015-07-10}}</ref> Hopfenberg has also made available a narrated slide show entitled "World Food and Human Population Growth". Jason Godesky wrote an article in 2005, entitled "The Opposite of Malthus", which attempts to ground Quinn's work in a more solid, scientific framework.<ref>{{Cite web|title = The Opposite of Malthus|url = http://rewild.com/anthropik/2005/04/the-opposite-of-malthus/index.html|website = The Anthropik Network|accessdate = 2015-07-10|last = Godesky|first = Jason|date = 2005-04-02}}</ref>