CHAPTER 11— BEYOND MALTHUS: THE FOOD/PEOPLE 



EQUATION 



I. Introduction 



This study explores the interaction of science, technology, and 

 American diplomacy in the extraordinarily complex problem of the 

 changing balance between food and population in the less developed 

 countries (LDCs) of the world. It shows how foreign aflfairs institu- 

 tions of the United States Government have responded to the chal- 

 lenges of this problem. Analysis of this particular issue, it was as- 

 sumed at the outset, would furnish clues to a better understanding of 

 problems involved in the interplay of science, technology, and diplo- 

 macy in general. 



The substantive conclusion of the study is that the growth of world 

 population is outpacing food production, while available techniques 

 are not being sufficiently applied to improve agricultural production 

 and marketing efficiency on the one hand, or to slow the rate of popula- 

 tion increase on the other. Achievement of a global balance of food 

 and population calls for many explicit improvements in political, 

 economic, social, and diplomatic organization and management to 

 achieve stronger human motivation, to improve the acquisition and 

 dissemination of pertinent information, and to design and implement 

 coordinated social programs which can apply existing technology more 

 effectively. Without all of these, the goal of balance will continue to 

 recede with results that seem likely to be tragic. 



Science and technology have had an increasingly significant impact 

 on the modern world, penetrating deeply into the substance and con- 

 duct of international relations. Traditional modes of diplomacy may 

 not always be appropriate to the resolution of international problems 

 with a substantial technical content; diplomacy may need new capa- 

 bilities to deal with such problems. There are encouraging signs that 

 this development may in fact be taking place. The question is whether, 

 in the particular issue at hand, it is proceeding fast enough and com- 

 prehensively enouarh. It seems clear that in devising programs to deal 

 with both sides of the food/population balance, urgency is of para- 

 mount importance. 



U.S. Stake in Resolving the Food/ Population Prohlem 



For some twenty-five years, through bilateral pacts and multilateral 

 channels, the United States has been furnishing aid to the LDCs. 

 Other developed nations have followed suit. U.S. motivation in pro- 

 vidinsr development assistance has both humanitarian and political 

 elements. These converge in the goal of fostering orderly political and 

 economic progress, rapid and palpable enough to dissuade the people 

 of the LDCs from destructively radical political solutions in their 

 senrch for a better life. In the pursuit of this aim, the United States 

 has made the largest national contribution to the modernization efforts 

 of the LDCs. Total U.S. assistance to these countries, 1946-1970. 



Note : This chapter was prepared in 1971 by Allan S. Nanes. 



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