FOREWORD OCTOBER 8, 1971. In a sense, all history is a story of man's struggle to obtain enough food to sustain life, and to rise above that struggle in order to build. civilizations. Outside the reach of hunger, peoples have created great works of art, have established elaborate systems of law and custom, have delved into the secrets of the universe itself. Within the grasp of famine, no true civilization is possible because each waking moment, each thought, each action, must be directed toward the necessities of sustaining life itself. So has it been through the ages: when the food/people equation is in balance, human society thrives; when there are too many people and too little food, the world is in travail. Today, in many parts of the earth, there is a food/people imbalance which causes the lives of millions to be a desperate search for sustenance that ends only with the grave. In the belief that the food/population equation can and should be brought into balance, modern man is applying scientific knowledge and technical skills. The United States, through its foreign aid programs, has been in the forefront of sharing these technological advancements throughout the world. As a result of recent developments, the world may be able to move beyond Thomas Malthus, who could see only starvation as man's end, into an age where life's banquet will hold a full helping for all. The significance of food/population issues made it virtually imperative that they be treated in the series of reports on Science, Technology, and American Diplomacy being sponsored by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on National Security Policy and Scientific Developments, and prepared by a Congressional Research Service task force headed by Dr. Franklin P. Huddle of the Science Policy Research Division, with Mr. Warren R. Johnston of the Foreign Affairs Division as associate director. The assignment was given to Dr. Allan S. Nanes, specialist in international development with the Foreign Affairs Division. Dr. Nanes, a graduate of Brown University with a doctorate from Harvard, has served 16 years with CRS, where he also has covered Western European affairs and U.S. foreign policy. He is the author of some 30 published articles and has been a regular contributor to the New International Year Book and the Standard Reference Encyclopedia. Dr. Nanes also has worked in the State Department and spent several years in college teaching. In this study, entitled Beyond Malthus: the Food/People Equation, Dr. Nanes details the current factual situation in food and population, assesses the issues as they impinge on international affairs, and cites the role which the United States has played in bringing relevant (III) technologies to the rest of the world. It is a comprehensive survey and a welcome addition to this series of case studies. At this point, however, I wish to make it clear that any judgments or opinions expressed in the monograph are Dr. Nanes' and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Subcommittee Members. The subject of population control is a sensitive one, invoking as it does deeplyheld moral and philosophical convictions. My own beliefs have led me to oppose many aspects of American family planning programs abroad. At the same time, I believe factual information on U.S. efforts as provided here is a necessary first step toward greater understanding and beneficial change. CLEMENT J. ZABLOCKI, Chairman, Subcommittee on National Security Policy and CONTENTS Page U.S. Stake in Resolving the Food/Population Problem_ Growth of Population versus Balanced Development_ Scope and Limitations of the Study--- II. DEFINING THE FOOD/PEOPLE EQUATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. Famine as Perceived in an Affluent Country- Achievement and Maintenance of Adequate Diet in Europe. The Malthusian Hypothesis and Its Revival___ Weaknesses in the Fundamental Data on Food and Agriculture__ Weaknesses in the Fundamental Data on Population___ Technical and Cultural Barriers to Birth Control__ Summary Statement of the Food/Population Problem_ III. MEETING FOOD REQUIREMENTS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES_ Dietary Deficiencies, Public Health, and Economic Development_ IV. THE POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY OF FOOD___ Evolution of U.S. Technical Assistance to Agriculture in the 52 (v) V. TECHNOLOGY FOR CONTROLLING THE POPULATION EXPLOSION_ Current Growth Rates in Asia, Africa, and Latin America___. The Intrauterine Device (IUD) Sterilization Conventional Methods__. New Lines of Scientific Research. The Problem of Medical Support.. VI. POLITICAL AND DIPLOMATIC ISSUES OF THE POPULATION PROBLEM IN Social Resistance to Birth Control and Family Planning Pro- The Status of Women-. The Masculine Image-. Cultural Inertia- Religion and Population___ Administrative Weaknesses in the LDCs.. U.S. Diplomatic Mobilization to Deal with the Population Issue_. The Strengthening of U.S. Policy. U.S. Policy Today U.S. Agencies with Overseas Population Programs. The Department of State_. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The Peace Corps--- The Agency for International Development.. AID Assessment of Program Requirements_ The Congressional Role__ Multilateral Programs Dealing with the Population Problem The Politics and Diplomacy of Stemming the Population Ex- Political and Diplomatic Problems of the Food/People Equa- I. INTRODUCTION This study explores the interaction of science, technology, and American diplomacy in the extraordinarily complex problem of the changing balance between food and population in the less developed countries (LDCs) of the world. It shows how foreign affairs institutions of the United States Government have responded to the challenges of this problem. Analysis of this particular issue, it was assumed at the outset, would furnish clues to a better understanding of problems involved in the interplay of science, technology, and diplomacy in general. The substantive conclusion of the study is that the growth of world population is outpacing food production, while available techniques are not being sufficiently applied to improve agricultural production and marketing efficiency on the one hand, or to slow the rate of population increase on the other. Achievement of a global balance of food and population calls for many explicit improvements in political, economic, social, and diplomatic organization and management to achieve stronger human motivation, to improve the acquisition and dissemination of pertinent information, and to design and implement coordinated social programs which can apply existing technology more effectively. Without all of these, the goal of balance will continue to recede with results that seem likely to be tragic. Science and technology have had an increasingly significant impact on the modern world, penetrating deeply into the substance and conduct of international relations. Traditional modes of diplomacy may not always be appropriate to the resolution of international problems with a substantial technical content; diplomacy may need new capabilities to deal with such problems. There are encouraging signs that this development may in fact be taking place. The question is whether, in the particular issue at hand, it is proceeding fast enough and comprehensively enough. It seems clear that in devising programs to deal with both sides of the food/population balance, urgency is of paramount importance. U.S. Stake in Resolving the Food/Population Problem For some twenty-five years, through bilateral pacts and multilateral channels, the United States has been furnishing aid to the LDCs. Other developed nations have followed suit. U.S. motivation in providing development assistance has both humanitarian and political elements. These converge in the goal of fostering orderly political and economic progress, rapid and palpable enough to dissuade the people of the LDCs from destructively radical political solutions in their search for a better life. In the pursuit of this aim, the United States has made the largest national contribution to the modernization efforts of the LDCs. Total U.S. assistance to these countries, 1946-1970, (1) |