Happy birthday, Alice Sarah Harmony. On Oct. 31, 2011, the newest member of the 7 billionth baby club took her first breath in this world. Remember, we were all babies once. Who would have thought we would’ve made it to such a number. To think almost 400 years ago people believed that the world was flat. As the new population milestone passes, it’s interesting to think about some of the positives and negatives that have come with such a number.

Most of the information concerning the story dealt with the hardships that 7 billion people bring to the planet. The news channels showed the child and her parents at the hospital, the Australian-born baby and her family appeared happy. It’s still puzzling that the majority of the reporters focused on the negative side of a rising population. If you were to examine the high-tech hospital room the baby was delivered in and then research childbearing in medieval times, you would notice that things have definitely changed for the better.

Humanity had evolved in many ways before the 7 billionth baby was born. Have we, however, taken giant leaps of progress or just baby steps to avert extinction? When we thought the world was flat, people were suffering all over the planet. Monarchs ruled with an iron fist, people starved and change was slow to come. No one would have thought the world would see 1 billion people, let alone 7. Family once played a huge role in the daily outcomes and events of the time. The strange thing is that after 7 billion people, that part of life has started to take a turn for the worse…

In countries throughout the world, people are still acting on outdated beliefs that were made for a much smaller population. If the population advances, shouldn’t its beliefs also? Economies have been strong, then weak, then strong again. Shouldn’t we have figured out how to spread the wealth by now? How many more marches on parliament or Wall Street do we need until one of our 7 billion people comprehends the idea of supply and demand coupled with necessity? I’m not for giving the farm away, but there has to be a way in which entire governments can go more than 50 years without becoming bankrupt like Greece. Weren’t they one of the first great societies to write on education and mathematics?

As the euro spins out of control and the dollar fluctuates in value, the one thing that is in high demand, as it has been throughout history, is food. It’s now easier than ever to grow, harvest and deliver food from the farms to the dinner plate, yet millions starve every day. There are even farms now that run completely automatically. Imagine telling a post-Civil War farmer that he wouldn’t need a mule and a plow anymore.

So if there’s all this food and so many ways to distribute it, then why are people still starving? Well, I’ll take a guess. I bet it’s the same issue we had when the population was around a few hundred people: greed.

Greed has been around since someone had two of an item and another person only had one. The strange thing about greed is that it’s taken on life of its own. Instead of greedy people in the past just hoarding more than what they needed, it’s become something of a newly refined monster. Now the greed wants not what someone else has, but what someone else needs. Whether it’s the medical industry or big oil, greed has a new face that’s uglier than ever.

With the population exceeding 7 billion, it’s crazy to hear about farmers going bankrupt. With more people in the world, food and education should be at the front of the line when it comes to the benefits of globalization. Hopefully, as we add people we start to add common sense. There are signs of progress, but like most positive things, it moves at a snail’s pace. Maybe the 7 billionth baby will be the one who can figure out what we haven’t, the way to keep greed in check and to feed all those who are hungry.