Let's start this Letter with a quiz question: which human activity, part of one of 8 GTI global themes,

1. Makes modern civilisation possible,
2. Is carried out full time by 1/3 of the planet, and
3. without it, the other two-thirds face extinction?

No, it's not the internet, video games or television.

We're writing about farming, part of GTI's "Supply Inelasticity" theme. Agriculture -a much maligned activity these days amongst the urban elites- puts meat, two veg and a healthy drink on the table for the nuclear family. It enabled mankind to move onto more interesting things like the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, the internet, playing the stock market and going on the Atkins Diet.

But here's where it gets scary. The world is now eating more food than farmers grow, and global grain stocks are at their lowest level in 30 years. As global population pushes up to 9bn from 6-7bn, global food production needs to increase by nearly 50% by 2030 -that's only 20 years away- and by 70% by 2050 to feed the new mouths, equivalent to one new United Kingdom every year.

David Fuller's view I commend this issue to subscribers most of whom are likely to be interested in GTI's themes and overall perspective.