Thomas Malthus published his Essay on the Principle of Populationalmost 200 years ago. Eve

Thomas Malthus published his Essay on the Principle of Population

almost 200 years ago. Ever since then, forecasters have being warning 【M1】 ______

that worldwide famine was just around the next comer. The fast-growing

population's demand for food, they warned, would soon exceed their 【M2】 ______

supply, leading to widespread food shortages and starvation.

But in reality, the world's total grain harvest has risen steadily over the

years. Except for relative isolated trouble spots like present-day Somalia, 【M3】 ______

and occasional years of good harvests, the world's food crisis has remained 【M4】 ______

just around the comer. Most experts believe this can continue even as ff 【M5】 ______

the population doubles by the mid-21st century, although feeding l0 billion

people will not be easy for politics, economic and environmental reasons. 【M6】 ______

Optimists point to concrete examples of continued improvements in yield.

In Africa, by instance, improved seeds, more fertilizers and advanced 【M7】 ______

growing practices have more than double com and wheat yields in an 【M8】 ______

experiment. Elsewhere, rice experts in the Philippines are producing

a plant with few stems and more seeds. There is no guarantee that plant 【M9】 ______

breeders can continue to develop new, higher-yielding crop, but most 【M10】______

researchers see their success to date as reason for hope.

【M1】