( 103 ) 



Thanks to its high standard of living, which allows huge 

 amounts of grain to be fed to livestock, and to the large 

 numbers of livestock available, the United States is now in 

 a favorable position to make sizable adjustments in her food 

 supply. 



Human Population Tends to Outrun Food Supply 



That population tends to outrun the food supply is well 

 illustrated from our experience in this country. A rapid ex- 

 pansion in food production and population began when the 

 Middle West was opened up. From about the middle to the 

 end of the nineteenth century the production of food crops 

 for man and beast increased more rapidly than population. 

 From about 1900 to about 1914 population increased at 

 about the same rate that the food supply increased, and 

 since that time food production has continued to rise, but 

 the advance has not kept pace with our expanding numbers 

 of food-consumers. 



Stated another way, prior to 1900 per capita food produc- 

 tion rose; for the first fifteen years of this century declined 

 slightly; and for the past quarter of a century continued to 

 decline, but at a more rapid rate (table 1). 



During all these years the per capita consumption of food 

 has changed but little. Since the internal combustion engine 

 reduced the physical effort required of the average man, it 

 may have reduced per capita food consumption somewhat, 

 but the amount of reduction can easily be exaggerated. 



Stable consumption has been adjusted to a downward 

 trend in per capita crop production in two ways. Our exports 

 of food have declined and food imports have risen. In addi- 

 tion, the type of food we are consuming has changed. In 

 earlier years, when crop production was large relative to 

 population, we used food lavishly by converting edible grain 

 into meat. As crop production declined relative to the popu- 



