The Haber-Bosch process for nitrogen fertilization dramatically expanded global carrying capacity; without it, maximum sustainable population would be about 2 billion (current: 8 billion).

factualpending

Speaker

Luigi Zingales

Evidence Quote

I was reading somewhere that if uh the German chemistry during war war I had not understood how to use fertilizer uh the maximum amount of population that we could support today would be 2 billion and we are at eight so I think that there been like a gigantic discovery that expanded our ability to support a larger population

Source

The Fertility Crisis: Capitalism's Next Challenge, with Sir Niall FergusonStigler Center
Created: 8/11/2026, 7:34:44 AM

My Notes

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