There is an alternative, as I sketched out above, and it involves empowering peasant farmers so they can make a living (provide food staples, earn money) from the land while not destroying it. Half the world's active population are farmers, most of them small peasants. These people have skills and locally-adapted knowledge that can be harnessed to provide much more food than is currently the case in many poorer countries. This would keep population in the country areas and help halt the flight to the towns. (Another of your points I responded to).

Of course, if you step back and say, we haven't got democratic governments so we're screwed anyway... You know, OK, so let's all go hang ourselves.