Sending food to countries stricken by famine is "barmy" and a sign the world is heading toward disaster because of overpopulation, Sir David Attenborough has said.
"What are all these famines in Ethiopia, what are they about?" the veteran broadcaster told the Daily Telegraph.
"They're about too many people for too little land. That's what it's about. And we are blinding ourselves.
Sir David Attenborough has voiced concerns about overpopulation
"We say, get the United Nations to send them bags of flour. That's barmy."
Without action on overpopulation, the "natural world will do something", he said, blaming "huge sensitivities" like the right to have children and the Catholic Church's stance on contraception as barriers to talking about population control.
“To start with, it is the individual’s great privilege to have children. And who am I to say that you shan’t have children?” says Attenborough.
He added that the issue could also be misconstrued as an attack on poor people as the areas of concern are Africa and Asia.
His latest series David Attenborough's Rise Of Animals: Triumph Of The Vertebrates will begin at 9pm on Friday on BBC 2.