Re: Malthus

Malthus observed that the population increases geometrically (2,4,8,16,32, etc.) while the food supply increases arithmetically (2,3,4,5,6,etc.)
From this he deduced that the population would eventually outstrip its ability to feed itself.

There have been a considerable number of agricultural advances since 1798 or else we would have already passed the point of starvation for the race as a whole. In other words, if we were still farming today with the same seeds and same crops and same methods as in the 18th century we would be hungry right now.

Soil conservation is another overlooked factor; what is now the Sahara Desert was once the garden of the Roman empire. Leptis Magna, founded on the north African coast, was the trans-shipment point for the fruits and vegetables grown in the Sahara region and sent to Rome. Desertification spread for millenia before we began to understand how to halt and eventually reverse its effects.

Fish farming and aquaculture are still two more ways that we feed people now but not then.