426 



FOOD SUPPLY PROBLEM 



power to do this." The proposed systems of " equality" of his 

 day Malthus rejected as mere palterings with a serious problem. 

 The general effect of years of cheapness and abundance of food, 

 says Malthus, is to dispose a great many persons to marry. Coun- 

 tries are populous according to the quantity of human food which 



FIG. 90. Fresh and cured meats in a cold storage warehouse in Chicago. 



they produce or can acquire; and happy according to the liberality 

 with which food is divided, the quantity which a day's labor will 

 produce. Corn countries are more populous than pasture countries, 

 and rice countries more populous than corn countries. This 

 happiness depends on the proportion which the population and 

 the food bear to each other. 



But population, says Malthus, tends to increase beyond the 

 means of subsistence. Population is limited by the food supply. 



