Now we come to the next point, and that is, the haves and the have-nots amongst the countries of the world. The standard share per person for the world is a little over twelve acres per head; potentially usable, about four acres; and actually used about 1. 1 acre. We are very often told in Britain to take the United States as an example of what is done or what might be done. Every little American is born into this world with a heritage of the home country, the continental United States, of just about the world average about twelve acres. We can estimate that probably some six acres of the total of twelve of the American homeland is cultivable in the sense I have just given you. But the amount actually used what the Americans call improved land in crops and pasture on farms is three and a half acres. So the Americans have over three times the world average of land on which to produce food for themselves. On that land they produce more food than they actually require, so they have a surplus for export.
Now suppose we take the United States great neighbour to the north, Canada. Every Canadian has 140 acres to roam around in. A lot of it is away in the frozen north, but there is still an enormous area of land in Canada waiting to be settled and developed. The official figure is twenty-two acres. The Canadians use at the moment four acres, and they too have a large food surplus available for export.
Now turn to our own country. Including land of all sorts, there is just over one acre per head in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. That is why we have to be so very careful with it. How much do we actually use? Just over half an acre to produce food that is as farm land. The story is much the same if you separate off Northern Ireland and Scotland and just take England and Wales. In this very crowded country, we have only 0. 8 acres per head of land of all sorts to do everything with which we need. That is why we have to think so very carefully of this problem.
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