There is a shortage of food because there are too many people. Until population growth is halted, and total world population reduced, there will always be a shortage of food.

Waffling on about food shortages, and telling Australia what it should be doing about countries who over-burden resources through their own population growth stupidity is a waste of time.

Starvation is a natural way of re-balancing population for any animals. Humans are no different, and it seems that there needs to be an even greater shortage of food for the ignorant to achieve a sensible balance.

Unfortunately, I can only agree with Mr Right. In addition, there is the unfortunate fact that peak oil will shortly be followed by peak food. Those who rail against the use of food crops to produce fuel fail to realise that the major cities of the world will starve unless fuel is available to transport essential supplies.

The other problem is that the usual result of any resource shortage is a war to decide who gets the limited supplies.

Not a good outlook for this century.

I'm hoping the crisis in capitalism will also allow us to stop shying away from discussing population. Although major religions (Catholics and Muslims) advocate unlimited family size to boost the number of adherents, and global capital wants its consumer base to keep expanding, developed countries have naturally declining populations. We should learn how to exploit this trend and foster it in other countries. A sustainable economy based on a fixed or declining population is surely not beyond our ingenuity, and is surely preferable to any 'growth' alternative I can think of.

If the farmers in Afghanistan, planted food, rather than poppies, their food supply would be much better, I see no reason for us to support their drug crops. When their fields produce only food, there may be some reason to help, if it was still required.

The Solomon Islands have much more than adequate very fertile land to support their population. If some of them chose to live in the larger towns, without access to that land, that's their choice, & I can see no reason for us to subsidise that choice. We would be simply encouraging the developement of an urban trash class, similar to here, in a country which can afford such indulgences even less than Australia.

With these island people, one generation removed from the village, & its land, is removal for ever. There is no way back for them, & they are landless.

We would be doing the poor of the world a favour if we confined all these NGO people, to barracks for the next decade.

That goes double for the UN. They have been "doing good" for 45 years, & things in these countries just get worse. Has anyone else but me, come to the conclusion that UN help is something we could all do with out. As they have not got it right now, I see no likelihood of them doing so, any time soon, or ever.

Like the big bank bosses, the overpaid UN & agency staff should get a real job, & stop wasting our money.

If you see how many fat people their are in Australia, America and England you will realize their is no food shortage. The problem is that most of it goes on our bodies or into the bin. If India killed a few more of their cows we would also reduce a fair degree of poverty. This article is more political than it is serious about addressing food distribution. The Mr Right's mantra that we are over populated is unproven dogma. It is more likely that the billions of dollars in aid never get to the mouths of people due to corrupt Governments. Zimbawe has the capacity to feed Africa and yet because Mugabe is black the UN does what it normally does (very little).

*If the farmers in Afghanistan, planted food, rather than poppies, their food supply would be much better, I see no reason for us to support their drug crops*

Farmers in Afghanistan of course used to grow food crops like wheat,
but subsidies from the EU/US, to protect their own farmers, drove
down the price of international wheat, below the cost of production.

So now, how can I blame Afghan farmers for growing what feeds their
families? I can't of course, with any kind of credibility.

Farmers will grow all the food that people want, but it has to
cover the cost of production. If the market is distorted by
the EU/US, as it is, well what you have is what we have now.

Its a failure in Western politics, not a failure in food production.