Thomas Malthus was an economist that lived in the 17th century, he became known for his pessimistic predictions regarding the future if humanity in the essay "The Principles of Population." There he stated his famous theory that predicted that the amount of food inevitably would become much grater than the supply of it. He based this prediction in the idea that population increases geometrically while the supply of food grows at an arithmetic rate. Among other mistakes, Malthus was unable to anticipate the growth of technology. The advancements made in agricultural science allowed farmers to make greater use of their lands. These include the use of pesticides, machine farming, fertilizers and most recently genetically modified food. This essay will discuss the need and use of one o these elements by society, fertilizers.

Fertilizers are natural or artificial substances which contain chemical elements that improve the growth and productiveness...