Reverend Malthus wrote a book in 1798,
Entitled “An Essay on thePrinciple of Population:
When farm technology was in a better state,
Population would grow, in tight relation.
The amount of food available per person,
If large, would soon be in retreat.
The lot of poor in every land would worsen,
Alway having just enough to eat.
When the scarcity of food became too grand,
The poor would starve, else die in a pandemic.
Else die in wars to gain more arable land,
In any case, the outcome catastrophic.
The catastrophes ’til now have not occurred,
Save deaths of World War One and World War Two,
Forests everywhere for grain have been destroyed,
And food transported in from sources new.
Since 1930 wheat yields are up by thrice,
And yields of corn are up five times or more.
Thank farm machines and new-bred crop resistance,
Thank pesticides and herbicides galore.
Can modern science always keep ahead?
If not, the outcome Reverend Malthus said.