I'm currently reading the book 2001 by Authur C Clark and partly by Stanley Kubrick. The book was published in 1968, which is concurrent with the movie.
Dr. Floyd has a small part to play in the book and movie. As he travels the long boring journey to the moon to study the monolith, he begins to think of the terrible state the world is in, including food shortages and a myriad of other problems due to overpopulation.
The year is 1999, and the overwhelming population that he speaks of is over six billion people on the earth. Clark foretold the future, which became a reality. What would Floyd think of today's numbers totaling 7,200,000,000 people?
Twelve percent of the people in the world are undernourished though the rising population is not to blame. According to Action Against Hunger, the amount of food available isn't the problem, complications arise with the distribution of supplies to the impoverished, and teaching farming and other skills that help inhabitants to become self-sufficient.
The UN projects that the population growth fifteen years from now will be well over eight billion and in 2050 close to ten billion. I can feel the earth shudder at the thought of so many people hitching a ride on her shoulders.
The time is well beyond 2001, and though we don't have bases on the moon and Mars and ships traveling to Jupiter, I believe people from 1968 would be sufficiently impressed by our ability to watch trivial, inane cat videos using the technology of today.
http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/blog/hunger-and-population-growth-correcting-common-misunderstanding
