Food Needs of Developing Countries

Abstract

As early as 1948, in a brief 4-page memorandum to ECOSOC¹ the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) expressed concern over the world food situation thus: “The world faces a grave food crisis which is likely to continue in acute form for at least two years. Stocks of most food are at low levels, and with the present large unsatisfied demand, a generally excellent harvest in 1948 would do no more than ameliorate the situation. The prospects for such a harvest are not encouraging…. Once the acute stage is past there are reasons to believe that for a number of years ahead the world may find itself in a sub-acute stage of food shortage.” In ECOSOC many underdeveloped countries stressed the gravity of the situation, while other countries, including the UK and the US, appeared less convinced that a crisis was looming and called for more analysis of the situation and examination of factors that limited food production.