That's irrelevant to some extent. It still means that those who could better resist illness and famine had a better chance to live, which is likely to have some genetic correlation. Even when the famine is extreme, it still selects for the families cold hearted enough to be able to consciously feed only those who have a chance to survive instead of trying to spread their resources to all their children, which itself may have some genetic source that can be selected by this pressure.
Not that either of these are good or necessary for a healthy species, mind you. We will always adapt to our environment and the selective pressures that match it, even when it's one of our own making. If that means fewer children die young, that is an excellent outcome - evolution is never goal oriented anyway.
Not that either of these are good or necessary for a healthy species, mind you. We will always adapt to our environment and the selective pressures that match it, even when it's one of our own making. If that means fewer children die young, that is an excellent outcome - evolution is never goal oriented anyway.