World food insecurity

Regarding the article "Rain Pares Size of US Wheat Harvest," June 13: World carryover of grains, the most significant measure of food security, has dropped from an all-time high in 1987 when it was enough for 102 days of use to just above a 60 days' supply, a dangerously low level.Those of us who are more affluent may look on the drop in the US harvest as meaning a rise in the cost of meats and breads and cereals. But for millions, the meaning will be that already inadequate diets will be even poorer and the likelihood that starvation or diseases associated with inadequate nutrition will strike many more families. The continuing low level of food security points to the need for more attention to problems of overpopulation and of the efficiency with which we use what food we have. John A. Freeman, Brevard, N.C.

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