I think you've answered this question, but inadequately: There is a well-established correlation between standard of living and population growth. The higher the standard of living (and hence the more food produced locally) the lower the birth rate. This flies in the face of your contention that population growth is tied to food production. Taking this down to the microcosm - when you see a picture of people starving in Ethiopia, what is ALWAYS in the picture? A LOT of infants and children. They're not producing any food, but . . . . • Ishmael.org, the work & philosophy of Daniel Quinn