The 1974 World Food Conference in Rome was characterized more by rhetoric reflecting national vested interests thanby constructive dialogue that might have led to effective policies and solutions to the world food problem. The conference did, however, focus international attention on the severity of the imbalanced supply and demand for food in the developing world. Conference delegates also generally agreed that while the developing world has potentials for increasing its food production, this would require substantial input of technical know-how, most of which would have to come from the developed world.