Title
Feeding the world in the 21st century : a historical analysis of agriculture and society / Christian Anton Smedshaug.
ISBN
9781843318675 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1843318679 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Publication Details
London ; New York, NY : Anthem Press, 2010.
Language
English
Language Note
Translated from the Norwegian.
Description
322 p. : ill. (some col.), col. maps ; 24 cm.
Call Number
HD9000.5 .S57 2010
Dewey Decimal Classification
338.1/9
Summary
"Feeding The World in the 21st Century: A Historical Analysis of Agriculture and Society provides a historical understanding of agricultural development over the last two centuries. Characteristics of the period have included the opening of the prairies in the late 18th century, the invention of industrial fertilizer and the tractor's displacement of the horse. Such profound developments have led to an abundance of food and peace and prosperity within the world market. This situation began at the end of the American Civil War and continued until 2005, when prices rose in spite of increased production. Smedshaug gives a historical background of the current situation, while discussing the ultimate challenge of how to feed a world of 10 billion people. This challenge has to be met in the light of climate change, water shortage, and not least the declining availability of fossil fuel. Smedshaug's analysis and recommendations underline the need for every country to have the freedom to establish an agricultural policy adapted to the given national natural conditions, as well as the need to put the producer at the heart of the policy in such a way that all countries can utilize their potential to produce food, and hence to feed the world."--Publisher's description.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Series
Anthem Other Canon series.
Will agriculture succeed?
Supply and demand of agricultural products
Ideas about agriculture, trade and society through changing times
Agriculture and development: what does history tell us?
The specificities of agriculture
Deficit of food
What created the surplus of food?
The role of agriculture in development
The role of development in agriculture
Increased yields in Africa's agriculture
International trade agreements after the Second World War
Agricultural policies for the 21st century
The challenge of the 21st century.
