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People, Land and Food

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Part of the book series: Focal Problems in Geography

Abstract

Having discussed in parts 1, 2 and 3 the problems of population growth, the resources available to man, and population-resource relationships in the developed and developing worlds, it is now time to try to assess future trends and possibilities relating to optimum numbers of people, living space, resources and food supplies. This is no easy matter for among the ‘authorities’ there is a very wide range of views which extend from extreme optimism to extreme pessimism, from those who believe that science and technology will in the end come to the rescue of mankind to those who are convinced that population growth and environmental deterioration have already over-reached rational limits and the world is heading uncontrollably towards disaster. Only the future will tell where the truth lies, but if the worst happens man will never be able to complain he was never warned for in our own time Boyd-Orr, Russell, Vogt, Ehrlich, Borgstrom and Du Bois among others have drawn attention to the serious and deteriorating situation.

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References

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© 1981 Harry Robinson

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Robinson, H. (1981). People, Land and Food. In: Population and Resources. Focal Problems in Geography. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-16545-2_12

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