The promise of finding long-term technological solutions to the problem of world food
shortages seems difficult to fulfill. Many innovations that were once heavily supported and
publicized, such as fish-protein concentrate and protein from algae grown on petroleum
substrates, have since fallen by the wayside. The proposals themselves were technically
feasible, but they proved to be economically unviable and to yield food products culturally
unacceptable to their consumers. Recent innovations such as opaque-2 maize, Antarctic krill,
and the wheat-rye hybrid triticale seem more promising, but it is too early to predict their
ultimate fate.
One characteristic common to unsuccessful food innovations has been that, even with
extensive government support, they often have not been technologically adapted or culturally
acceptable to the people for whom they had been developed. A successful new technology,
therefore, must fit the entire sociocultural system in which it is to find a place. Security of crop
yield, practicality of storage, palatability, and costs are much more significant than had
previously been realized by the advocates of new technologies. For example, the better protein
quality in tortillas made from opaque-2 maize will be of only limited benefit to a family on the
margin of subsistence if the new maize is not culturally acceptable or is more vulnerable to
insects.
The adoption of new food technologies depends on more than these technical and cultural
considerations; economic factors and governmental policies also strongly influence the
ultimate success of any innovation. Economists in the Anglo-American tradition have taken the
lead in investigating the economics of technological innovation. Although they exaggerate in
claiming that profitability is the key factor guiding technical change—they completely
disregard the substantial effects of culture—they are correct in stressing the importance of
profits. Most technological innovations in agriculture can be fully used only by large
landowners and are only adopted if these profit-oriented business people believe that the
innovation will increase their incomes. Thus, innovations that carry high rewards for big
agribusiness groups will be adopted even if they harm segments of the population and reduce
the availability of food in a country. Further, should a new technology promise to alter
substantially the profits and losses associated with any production system, those with economic
power will strive to maintain and improve their own positions. Since large segments of the
populations of many developing countries are close to the subsistence margin and essentially
powerless, they tend to be the losers in this system unless they are aided by a government
policy that takes into account the needs of all sectors of the economy. Therefore, although
technical advances in food production and processing will perhaps be needed to ensure food
availability, meeting food needs will depend much more on equalizing economic power among
the various segments of the populations within the developing countries themselves. 【題組】79. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to agree with
which of the following statements concerning the solution to food shortages in
developing countries?
(A) The introduction of technological innovations to reap profits might alleviate food
shortages to some degree, but any permanent solution can come only from effective
governmental intervention in the socioeconomic system.
(B) Long-lasting solutions will not be found until large landowners adopt improvements
that will make production more efficient and thus more profitable.
(C) In order to achieve a meaningful solution to the problem of food shortages, the
tastes of the general population must be educated to accept the new food products of
modern agricultural technology.
(D) Although a short-term solution to food shortages can be achieved by importing food
from other countries, a long-term solution requires a restructuring of the countries’
socioeconomic system.
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