There comes a point for any species , that why it outstrips its resources it has a die back ... im quite looking forwards to the collapse of human civilisation, and the look on the faces of all those Ceo's that are saying "we can sustain this , think about the profits , think of the share holders "

Keith, Hull ,

Readers: Do you grow enough food in your backyard to feed yourself and your family? Who's responsibility is it to feed you? Please learn to cooperate, grow, and trade resources peacefully! There will be more violence, disasters, and maybe even a pandemic to "control" the population. Take care.

DuPont, Cleveland, USA

Unless population growth is arrested, we are simply condeming unborn billions to starvation.

danny, london,

In these times there is no excuse, no reason whatsoever that we cannot unite, put our differences aside and feed all. We have all the resources, technology, workers etc we need to achieve this , to feed the whole world, no matter how many we are.. All life deserves our best effort, always.

Keara, Chatham, England

Hasn't he heard of climate change?

Forget increasing the food supply - reduce the population!

Mike Hart, London, England

It is all very well for the pope to say we have the technology to stop hunger but the Catholic church must also play its part by allowing contraception to stop further population explosion.

Timothy, London,

This is partly due to the governments asking farmers to grow (bio) fuel rather than food. It doesn't take a genius to work that one out!

The rising price of oil and fertilizer has also contributed to the rise in costs and reduction in production!

Andy T, North East, England,

So many people across the world are suffering hunger,however,food prices are still rising.Should the leaders put the problem in perspective right now? Hopefully.

cristiano, Wuhan, China

If you can,t feed them, don,t breed them. Sorry pictures of hungry populations should motivate to us to offer ,primarily,education about birth control and food production and supply them with tools to develop self sufficiency not supply more food to encourage their problem

Ed, Torbay, UK

How does this sound? How about we make real progress in stopping the inexorable expansion of the human population and take some pressure of this poor planet and its resources and planta and animals.
50% more food production means alot more deforestation and fossil fuel use - a viscous circle?!

D Bullock, Hollington, UK

Increasing the food supply will accomplish nothing, unless you also stabilize population growth.

Food aid should be tied to population control. If it's not, then you'll end up with more starving people than you started with.

Dave Morgan, Portree, Scotland

Surely world population control targets need to be set hand-in-hand with the vast sums of money being donated for food. By 'artificially' feeding people in over-populated regions, they will never control their birth rates. This needs a 2 pronged approach.

AJ, London,

Reliable statistics show that only 50% of food aid reaches it's planned point of distribution in a usable condition, largely due to corrupt government on the ground It seems too obvious that instead of increasing production should we not concentrate on vastly improving the delivery networks?

Charlie, Angouleme, France

In David Attenborough's 'State Of The Planet' series, I'm sure he suggested that humanity currently uses 50% of the World's resources every year... wouldn't such an increase in agriculture therefore push us far beyond the limits of sustainable existence?

GH Morgan, Talgarth, Wales

As I sit and write I am surrounded by set-aside. Thanks to the European Onion (it makes me cry) and, therefore, DEFRA.

Whilst I, too, bemoan the utter hypocrisy of Mugabe's attendance, I believe the CAP equally should be on trial here.

Mike L, Chippenham, Wilts

oh! god!

ken, guangzhou, China

If we leave the UN to sort this out, we'll all die of starvation. For whatever reason, they seem to be intent on ignoring "the elephant in the room": there are already too many people.

Alan, Edinburgh,

Someone needs to say

Farmers are happy with higher prices

before people could not care less about farming

That is why so many farmers have commited suicide out of desperation in the past

Nicholas Iles, Oswestry, Shropshire

As a member of a "rich" nation, I am quite prepared to do my bit - whatever that is - to help feed the poor, but somebody somewhere, rich or poor, must do their bit as well - that is control population. The only people doing this as far as I can see are the Chinese - however harshly.

Ann Playfair, Woodstock, NY, US

When will anybody get to the root of this problem - over population.

Mick, Malton, N Yorkshire

Henry Ford originally designed the Ford Model T, a car produced using hemp & run completely on hemp derived biofuel. Hemp is the way forward for sustainable non soil degrading biofuel. It requires little to no pesticides, replenishes soil with nutrients, nitrogen & controls erosion of topsoil.

Sarah, Gtr Manchester, Uk

The only thing that will rise by 50% in Zimbabwe are the food prices and the grab for the last remaining productive farms

anna, Johannesburg, South Africa

Wrong... the world's POPULATION needs to DECREASE by 50%.

Nikki, London,

Better for Planet Earth if population decreased by 50%.

gerry, exeter, england

why can't farmers make money as well. my costs this year have increased 100% this year. food prices are to cheap

peter, patchewollock, australia

Gee.. I hate it when these third world millionaires hold it against us that we produce enough food to feed ourselves and ought to give them food for free... If they can afford to buy guns they should be able to buy butter.

Rick is right too.

Rui, Lisbon, Portugal

It's time to admit we have a population problem and limit every family in the world to one child. That will soon half the population and sort the food problem. Then the loony PC brigade... "What about the human rights of people who want 2 children!". Do you really want to starve to death?

Graeme, Edinburgh,

There is no real food supply problem. There is, however, a dollar depreciation problem caused by the present mad and profligate money printing policies of th fed and other central banks. It's called inflation!

L.Deane, Morecambe, U.k

In the UK due to pressure from the EU, agricultural production capacity has been reduced by obligatory "set-aside" policies. Much of the land so designated has been permanently lost to agriculture due to alternative development and building. Thanks to years of NuLabour and the unelected EU "government" we are now a net importer of food in the UK and will never again be self-sufficient.

Sean, Coventry, UK

263,900 houses are due to be built on greenfield sites over the next 5 years in the UK alone. We will soon need every hectare of fertile land to feed ourselves, but our governments go on letting developers destroy irreplacable farmland for short term gain. Mugabe too gave the farmland to his cronies

Caroline de Aragues, London, UK

According to the global warming evangelists we will all be crispy critters long before 2030. Also trends on population are down. The decrease will continue if the eco-whacko's let the world develop. Once again the UN is not on this planet. Put food in cars, not people.

Desmond Taylor, Houston, USA Tx

He needs water to do that, and the world deserts are expanding and many major rivers hardly reach the sea. Aquifers are depleating so where is he going to get the water to grow these crops?

Mr G, Leeds, UK

totally unfeasable. even if we are able to miraculously increase crop yeld per acre, the ever increasing population will continue 'eat in' to those gains, as well as putting extra pressure all the other resources will use and deplete. a decrease in world population is the only thing that will help.

tim, sydney, AUS

I have said it for years. This planet is becoming too crowded.
There is a finite point at which this planet can sustain life.
Before that the quality of life will drop and drop.
The human race is slowly breeding itself out of existence.

Jerry Scroggin, Phoenix, Arizona/USA

Why are food prices rising? Because money supply, almost without national exception, is growing at a much faster rate than real growth. Possibly the simple solution is to reduce the growth in money being "printed", than to raise the amount that needs to be produced to offset this phenomenon!

Rick , Manchester,

As food production produces by far the biggest man-made CO2 emissions, sure in order to prevent climate change we should be cutting food production?

Mike, Middlesbrough,

Why doesn't someone just arrest Mugabe and subject him to all the cruelty he has imposed on his nation? Maybe starve him, give him a beating and take away all his possessions and leave him to live the rest of his life in poverty?

Neil Crompton, London, UK

Don't let your dislike of President Mugabe policies cloud the issues here. Zimbabwe has a right to be represented at such forums.High food prices/starving people are not confined to Zimbabwe only.Climate change is affecting everybody.Prior to 2002,70%of maize was produced by black smallscale farmers

chenzira, London,

The more efficient your production the more it is subject to disruption by random weather events. You have to produce, and store, at least 20% more food than you need every year to avoid this. We are either going to have to develop radically new loaves and fishes ideas or cut population.

John Sinclair, Dundee, UK

Mugabe increase crop production in Zimbabwe. This is a cruel joke. Do the UN have any idea of who they are talking to??

anna, Johannesburg, South Africa

No word on any encouragements to restrain the rise in world population?

50%? soon swallowed up by population growth.

Feed the starving now, certainly, but what do we do when *their* children are starving and there is no fuel for intensive farming? Where do we stop, 10Billion people, 20, 30?

david reece, Banbury, UK

Mugabe increase the crops? The only thing he has increased is the ship load of arms he received from China

anna, Johannesburg, South Africa

In the UK the 'green' lobby is pushing for less food production, with its concentration on organic food and opposition to GM crops. This has to change.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

At what point do we admit that the world is over populated and unable to support the human virus that is killing it? The UK could not feed itself in 1940 when the population was just 40 million so what would happen here today if we were unable to import food. Answers on a postcard please

Cromwell, Leeds, England

The so-called developing nations have for years tried to destroy the agricultural economies of the EU and US.
The cannot feed themselves not to mind export. Mugabe has destroyed the breadbasket of Central Africa.
If they starve the much maligned West cannot be blamed if it turns to bio-fuels.

Brian O Cinneide, eThekwini, Afrika Borwa

"Jewish leaders, the Italian left and Iranian exiles have denounced Mr Ahmadinejad's..."

Their view is irrlevent compared to that of major world powers such as China and Russia who are fully behind Iran's peaceful nuclear program.

jayil, london, uk

...Or world population must fall 50%.

Matt ODonnell, Guildford, UK

its the distribution of food that is the problem,the level at which the west consumes is wholly unsustainable, and the amount of waste that is generated unacceptable.taking into consideration that most of our food comes from underdeveloped countries these days!!??

richard, belfast, northern ireland

Anyone going to be impolite enough to mention unsupportable population growth ? Probably not, certainly not the Pope.

jasper, chelmsford,