People in most of the world from the introduction of agriculture to well into the 19th century lived under the constant threat of starvation and faced the daily reality of an inadequate diet and malnutrition. Agriculture was of prime importance, and a delicate balance existed between food supply and widespread hunger. Ponting points out that the causes of most famines were and are of human origin, although slight changes in the climate can cause tremendous disruption in the growing season for agricul tural areas.

Natural disasters, entitlements, poor agricultural techniques, and rapidly growing populations all contributed to conditions of famine and food shortage. Out of this situation people were reduced to absolute survival conditions. Whenever agricultural productivity was improved by the cultivation of new land or the introduction of new techniques (like paddy cultivation of rice in China,) the population quickly grew to absorb the increased capacity. Over a few lengthy periods, in many areas, people reverted to cannibalism and the slaughter of dogs a nd cats. Outbreaks of disease and war contributed to the marginal condition of most of the populatio n, and people were more likely to die of disease or injury because of their chronic malnutrition.

Only one part of the world, Europe, was able to break out of this cycle, and that was by gaining control of resources belonging to other areas to feed more of their own population. The Europeans did not have superior agricultural technology, but they h ad the technology to conquer other peoples who had the excess land needed to feed the people of Europe. Many parts of the world are still subject to the traditional cycles of war and famine.

Ponting seems to have two main points in this chapter: to demonstrate that there never were any 'good old days' in human history for the bulk of the population, and to remind us that we never have learned from experiencing the same cycle over and over again. Of course, in the past people did not have access to information covering a long enough span of time to discern these patterns. Neither did they have the technology we have now for improving agricultural yield and limiting population growth. So n ow we have no excuse for following the old, futile patterns of growth and consumption.

Notes on musical accompaniment and other resources - Some of the music we considered for this very depressing chapter included Verdi's Requiem, Britten's War Requiem, and some folk songs about the Irish Famine: The Fields of Athenry and Skibbereen. We also thought it would be worthwhile to watch a recent BBC series on the Irish Famine, The Hanging Gale. Another film that we could recommend is Satyajit Ray's Distant Thunder, showing hunger in India due to war in Europe. Of course, there is also much footage available from recent news of Som alia or Rwanda.