Feeding the Ten Billion: Plants and Population Growth (Paperback)

~ Lloyd T. Evans (Author) "Humankind, i.e. the genus Homo, has depended for its subsistence on hunting and gathering for more than 99% of its evolutionary history, yet since that..." (more)
Key Phrases: Near East, Fertile Crescent, Abu Hureyra (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I recommend this book highly to the academic community as we try collectively to understand the next 50 years in regard to food security and environmental sustainability...It is well referenced. Feeding the Ten Billion is a good reference for upper level courses on sustainability and should be on the shelf of those working and writing in agricultural sustainability." Soil Science

"Excellent...a very readable book which should be of interest to a wide audience, including teachers, students, policy-makers, advisers and the general public." Plant Growth Regulation

Product Description

At the current rate of increase, the world's population is likely to reach ten billion by the middle of the twenty-first century. What will be the challenges posed by feeding this population and how can they be addressed? Written to mark the 200th anniversary of the publication of Malthus' seminal Essay on the Principle of Population, this fascinating book looks at the intimate links between population growth and agricultural innovation over the past 10,000 years, illustrating how the evolution of agriculture has both shaped and been shaped by the course of world population growth. This historical context serves to illuminate our present position and to aid understanding of possible future paths to food security for the planet. This volume is a unique and accessible account that will be of interest to a wide audience concerned with global population, food supply, agricultural development, environmental degradation and resource depletion.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (November 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521646855
• ISBN-13: 978-0521646857
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #412,617 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent history of population and agriculture., September 10, 1999

By A Customer

This work is an efficient survey of agriculture and its relation to population growth through history. The chapters are designed to focus on population growth through time. For example chapter 2 is: Reaching for 5 million ( to 8000BC); chapter 3 is: Towards 50 million ( 8000-2000BC); chapter 4 is: The first half-billion ( 2000BC-1500AD); chapter 5 is: Towards the first billion (1500-1825) etc. Under each heading is a discussion of the critical agricultural developments during that time period. The last chapter focuses on the problems of feeding 10 billion people in the future.The research is detailed and knowledgable. The sources are modern and uptodate. The writing is precise. It is an excellent book that covers a lot of ground in a small compass. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and complete, February 21, 2009

By	W. G. Wilkoff (Brunswick,, ME USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had to buy this for course on Agriculture. Found it most instructive. The writing is a bit choppy but the formate made it easy to assimilate.