Full article available in pdf format<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Today, most people around the world have access to a greater variety of nutritious and affordable foods than ever before, thanks mainly to developments in agricultural science and technology.  The average human lifespan—arguably the most important indicator of quality of life—has increased steadily in the past century in almost every country.  Even in many less developed countries, life spans have doubled over the past few decades.  Despite massive population growth, from 3 billion to more than 6 billion people since 1950, the global malnutrition rate decreased in that period from 38 percent to 18 percent.  <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />India and China, two of the world’s most populous and rapidly industrializing countries, have quadrupled their grain production.