Final answer:
Food collectors do not work harder primarily because there is no need to, which would otherwise lead to overexploitation of natural resources. Their sustainable practices contrast with the challenges faced by agriculturalists and modern society's food production and distribution issues.
Step-by-step explanation:
One primary reason food collectors don't work harder is D. There is no need to, and it would overexploit resources. Hunter-gatherers traditionally maintain a balance with their environment to prevent depletion of natural resources. In contrast to agriculturalists, who must deal with the hardships of dependency on weather and vulnerability to diseases, hunter-gatherers' sustenance practices allow for a more stable and sustainable approach to food collection. Excessive harvesting or hunting could lead to resource scarcity, jeopardizing future food availability.
Farming intensification often results in the over-cultivation of land, which not only leads to soil depletion but can also cause social issues such as increased social stratification and dependency on a single type of crop. Successes in agriculture allowed for population growth and the development of cities, but also tied human survival more acutely to a stable climate and reliable growing conditions. Anthropological studies of foragers show that they have a more varied and flexible diet, adjusting to local availability, which offers lessons in resilience and sustainability.
Moreover, food shortages and famine today are frequently the result of poor governance rather than actual food scarcity. Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen highlighted that many food crises are a consequence of inadequate macroeconomic policies, rather than an inability to produce sufficient food. Hence, food collectors have an inherently limited motivation to change their sustainable practices, especially in the context of our current global challenges regarding food production and distribution.