Although soil erosion is a natural process, it has increased to the point where it far exceeds the natural formation of new soil. However, with only occasional exceptions, national agricultural and population policies have failed to take soil depletion into account. Projections of world food production always incorporate estimates of future…

Cites evidence to support the theory that the world food shortage will become a chronic condition. Describes the depletion of surplus food supplies and the increasing dependence on North America for food supplies. (MLH)

After a generation of unprecedented economic growth, the world economy appears to be losing momentum. Double-digit inflation, high interest rates, and soaring deficits are often cited as causes of the global economic slowdown, but these are more symptom than cause. More fundamental is the depletion of the global resource base that allowed the…