The increased population is possible in part because staple prices have fallen enough to support that larger population. Not saying it's a perfect comparison bu

The increased population is possible in part because staple prices have fallen enough to support that larger population. Not saying it's a perfect comparison but it can be used as a rough guide because there is no way that's perfectly accurate, the situation of the world has changed so much you can't account for every factor affecting any thing you try to use to create a meaningful baseline across centuries.