In November 1996, the United Nations convened the first World Food Summit to address the future food demands of a rapidly growing human population. At the meeting in Rome, participants discussed whether two of the world’s forms of agriculture—the “Green Revolution” and sustainable agriculture—have the potential to feed approximately 100 million additional people per year, particularly in populous Third World nations.

The Green Revolution, a modern, high technology approach begun in the 1960s, incorporates the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, growth hormones, and genetically manipulated seed varieties. Credited with boosting food production in the Third World, “the revolution has nearly tripled world food output and boosted per-capita calories in the Third World by one-third,” writes Hudson Institute researcher Dennis T. Avery. According to writers David Rothbard and Craig Rucker, “Modern agriculture, coupled...