Food and Population, Dr. Hopfenburg's look at the relationship between food and demographic growth

Thanks to PMC for Russell Hopfenburg, Ph.D. of Duke University website link and thesis on the relationship of food availability and human population growth. Dr. Hopfenburg would be glad to receive feedback and respond to questions. A contact email is provided at the end of the essay.

Food and Population Summary

In the broadest sense, the thesis of my work is very simple. The main perspective is that human population dynamics do not differ from the population dynamics of all other species.

For all other species, population changes as a function of carrying capacity. Carrying capacity consists of several variables. For example, for many species, carrying capacity consists of: oxygen, food, water, space, predators / disease. I said: "for many species" because trees, for example, need carbon dioxide, not oxygen, and they don't need food per se. Increases in the carrying capacity cause a population increase. Decreases in the carrying capacity cause a population decrease. Arguably, the most dynamic of the carrying capacity variables impacting a population is food.

Here's a classic example in which changes in the food "carrying capacity variable" cause changes in the population.

http://www.PanEarth.org/world%20food%20&%20human%20population%20growth/player.html

I hope you'll feel free to peruse the www.PanEarth.org website and view the videos and papers available there.