World grain supplies have fallen to 25 days. Should we worry about it?

How many people can the Earth feed? "If we all agree to adopt a tofu diet and succeed in putting together the ideal ecological, socio-economic and political conditions, we could in theory feed 20 billion human beings through an equitable distribution of the world’s cereal harvests. This number represents 3.5 times the current world population. However, the quality of life would be such that as far as I am concerned I would not want to be there!" answers Don Smith, professor in the Department of Plant Science at McGill University. An expert in soya production, Dr. Smith is one of the speakers invited to address the delegates at a one-day symposium, "Perspectives on the World Food Supply."

"During the symposium, world-renowned experts will address hot worldwide issues such as the sky-rocketing increase in the demand for cereals, the fact that yields have reached a ceiling, the slow disappearance of agricultural land, the dwindling of food aid and the globalization of markets," says one of the symposium’s organizers, Associate Dean Marcel Couture of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Members of the public are invited to join the industrialists, researchers and senior civil servants of the agri-food sector, Monday, June 5, 1997, in the H. Noel Fieldhouse Auditorium of the Leacock Building on the main campus of McGill University, at the corner of McTavish and Dr Penfield Streets. Associate Dean Couture hopes that the "Perspectives on the World Food Supply" symposium will encourage exchanges between participants and with the guest speakers in order to better understand the impacts of the new economic and food reality in their respective areas of activities

Organized by the McGill Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Ste. Anne de Bellevue section of the Quebec Order of Agronomists, the symposium will be held in both French and English with simultaneous translation. Registration include admission to the symposium, breaks, lunch and proceedings. The registration fee is $ 145 for registration received before or on May 5, 1997 and $ 195 after this date. Students may take advantage of the reduced rate of $ 75 before or on May 5 ($125 after May 5) by submitting proof of their students status. For further information please phone 514-398-3770 or consult the symposium

NBLe colloque se déroulera en anglais et en français avec traduction simultanée

Perspectives on the World Food Supply

PROGRAMME