Bjorn Lomborg is an associate professor of statistics in the Department of Political
Sciences at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. In the following viewpoint, Lomborg
asserts that despite enormous population growth, farmers are feeding a higher
percentage of people worldwide than ever before. According to Lomborg, the Green
Revolution–during which scientists developed fertilizers and pesticides, high-yield crops,
and better irrigation methods–enabled farmers to produce more food more cheaply.
Inhabitants in both the developed and developing world have benefited as food
production has tripled, calorie intake per capita increased, and the number of starving
people fallen.
As you read, consider the following questions:
• Describe Malthus’s theory of population growth, as related by the author.
• According to Lomborg, how much has meat per person increased since 1950?
• How have Norwegian farmers increased the productivity of salmon, as explained
by the author?