Foster's name appears first on first and second editions.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Famines -- Malnutrition defined -- Measuring undernutrition -- Impacts of undernutrition -- Undernutrition: who, when, where? -- Economics : supply and demand -- It's not food vs. population -- Income distribution and undernutrition -- Other factors influencing demand for food -- Agricultural land and water -- Agricultural production and the environment -- Increasing yields through input intensity -- Increasing yields through new technology -- The interaction between undernutrition and health -- Philosophical approaches to undernutrition -- Policies that raise the incomes of the poor -- Policies that address the demographic causes of undernutrition -- Policies that reduce the price of food through subsidized consumption -- Policies that improve access to food : it's all about distribution (isn't it?) -- Policies that raise prices paid to farmers : direct subsidies and elimination of urban bias -- Policies that reduce the price of food by increasing supply -- World food supply and demand for the next half century: alternative scenarios.