The person who tips the world population above seven billion may be born this year. The world food price index hit a record high last month, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation. Bad harvests in Russia and Australia, combined with rising oil prices, have begun to cause shortages, export bans and even riots. Does starvation loom?
No. Never has the world looked less likely to starve. Never have our grandchildren looked more likely to feed well. Never has famine been less widespread. Never has the estimated future peak of the world’s population been lower.
It is true that the population figure may pass seven billion some time in the next 12 months, but the rate of growth is decelerating. The world’s population is now