The Winnowing
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| "The Winnowing" | |
| Author | Isaac Asimov |
|---|---|
| Country |  USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction short story |
| Published in | Analog |
| Publication type | Periodical |
| Publisher | Universal Publishing |
| Media type | Print (Magazine, Hardback & Paperback) |
| Publication date | February 1976 |
"The Winnowing" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. The story was written at the request of William Levinson, editor of the US publication 'Physician's World', but when the latter ceased publication, the story was returned to the author, who then sold it to Analog. It appeared in the February 1976 edition.
In the year 2005, the world's population of six billion is suffering from acute famine. The World Food Organisation decides on desperate measures to decrease the population by a process of triage. They propose to do this by adding selective poisons to certain food shipments to grossly over-populated areas.
They blackmail biochemist Dr Aaron Rodman into cooperating with their scheme, proposing to utilise his development of LP - a lipoprotein which when incorporated into foods will cause random deaths.
The scheme is planned but Rodman is finally unable to go along with it. At a meeting between himself and senior government officials and members of the World Food Council, he feeds them with sandwiches laced at random with the LP, so that they too will die at random. He carefully matches the LP in the sandwiches he eats to his own metabolism, so that he will die quickly and not be guilty of involvement in the scheme.
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