TEXT B The promise of finding
long term technological solutions to the problem of world food shortage 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.
One characteristic common to unsuccessful 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 social cultural
system in which it is to find a place. Security of crop yield, practicality of
storage, and costs are much more significant than had previously been realized
by the advocates of new technologies. 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 economies of technological innovation. Although
they exaggerate in claiming that profitability-is the sky 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 (agricultural business) 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 position. 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 population within the developing
countries themselves. 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．Innovations in agricultural technology will be of little help, and perhaps even harmful, in combating food shortage, no matter how well designed they are to suit local circumstances. C．Long lasting solutions will not be found until large landowners adopt improvements that will make production more efficient and thus more profitable. D．In order to achieve a meaningful solution to the problem of food shortage, the tastes of the general population must be educated to accept the new food products of modern agricultural technology.