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Is there a 'food crisis'?

I've been set an essay asking whether there's a 'food crisis' going on.
I've done some research but am having trouble getting the facts straight.
At the core of the problem is population increase, so there's less food to go round for more people. But won't modern technology and farming methods negate this? Are food prices rising necessarily because of shortages?
Is there more famine and malnutrition now than there was say, 20, 50, 100 years ago?

Sorry to bombard with questions.
Any thoughts around this topic would be much appreciated.

Reply 1

Student2806

Have you looked at optimistic and pessimistic views on food supply i.e. Ester Boserup and Thomas Malthus' theories?
As to whether there's a food shortage, it's a highly contested issue which has no definitive answer. Both sides of the argument have very valid points.

Those who say YES say the population of the world has exploded and the physical planet has a limited carrying capacity for agricultural use. That's probably the reason why the cost of food has exploded.
On the NO side, you've got people who say farming methods and consumption patterns will change to cope with the demand.

There is no clear-cut answer.

Personally, I do believe that we have a food crisis on our hands now. I do agree that in the future, new technologies will help, but it's not coming fast enough.