This comprehensive two-volume encyclopedia examines specific famines throughout history and contains entries on key topics related to food production, security and policies, and famine, giving readers an in-depth look at food crises and their causes, responses to them, and outcomes.
· Contributions from professors at West Point, Rutgers University, and other universities and colleges; specialists at nutrition centers, hospitals, and the Population Reference Bureau; and the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) World Food Day participants
· Original data, diagrams, photographs, charts, and tables
· Illustrations include maps, many designed by the author of the entry or book chapter; and graphics secured from U.S. government source material, UN publications, and historic texts
· A "further readings" section accompanies each entry or book chapter
· Concluding bibliographies at the end of each volume
The Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961) claimed more lives than any documented famine in history, with the numbers of lives lost estimated as high as 42 million. Could a similar event occur again? Possibly, but famines of the future will likely occur in mega-urban complexes comprising upwards of 15 million inhabitants in the tropical and subtropical nations of the world—yet food will be plentiful in the developed world outside of these regions.
