Project 3`DuPont essay
Food has never before existed in such abundance, so why are 842 million people in the world going hungry? (Hunger Statistics) In purely quantitative terms, there is enough food available to feed the entire global population of 7 billion people. And yet, one out of every eight people is going hungry. In some countries, one in every three children is underweight. Why does hunger exist?
Natural disasters such as floods, tropical storms and long periods of drought are on the increase -- with calamitous consequences for food security in poor, developing countries. Drought is now the single most common cause of food shortages in the world. (What causes hunger?) In 2011, recurrent drought caused crop failures and heavy livestock losses in parts of Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. (Israel Creates Drought Resistant ‘Super Plants) In many countries, climate change is exacerbating already adverse natural conditions. For example, poor farmers in Ethiopia or Guatemala traditionally deal with rain failure by selling off livestock to cover their losses and pay for food. But successive years of drought, increasingly common in the Horn of Africa and Central America, are exhausting their resources.
War is another leading cause of world hunger. Since 1992, the proportion of short and long-term food crises that can be attributed to human causes has more than doubled, rising from 15 percent to more than 35 percent. All too often, these emergencies are triggered by conflicts. From Asia to Africa to Latin America, fighting displaces millions of people from their homes, leading to some of the world's worst hunger emergencies. Since 2004, conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan has uprooted more than a million people, precipitating a major food crisis -- in an area that had generally enjoyed good rains and crops. In war, food sometimes becomes a weapon. Soldiers will starve opponents into submission by seizing or destroying food and livestock and systematically wrecking local markets. Fields and water wells are often mined or contaminated, forcing farmers to abandon their land. When conflict threw Central Africa into confusion in the 1990s, the proportion of hungry people rose from 53 percent to 58 percent. By comparison, malnutrition is on the retreat in more peaceful parts of Africa such as Ghana and Malawi.
The poverty trap, In developing countries, farmers often cannot afford seeds to plant the crops that would provide for their families. Craftsmen lack the means to pay for the tools to ply their trade. Others have no land or water or education to lay the foundations for a secure future. The poverty-stricken do not have enough money to buy or produce enough food for themselves and their families. In turn, they tend to be weaker and cannot produce enough to buy more food. In short, the poor are hungry and their hunger traps them in poverty. Agricultural infrastructure, In the long-term, improved agricultural output offers the quickest fix for poverty and hunger. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2004 Food Insecurity Report, all the countries that are on track to reach the first Millennium Development Goal have something in common -- significantly better than average agricultural growth. Yet too many developing countries lack key agricultural infrastructure, such as enough roads, warehouses and irrigation. The results are high transport costs, lack of storage facilities and unreliable water supplies. All conspire to limit agricultural yields and access to food. But, although the majority of developing countries depend on agriculture, their governments economic planning often emphasizes urban development. And over-exploitation of environment, poor farming practices, deforestation, over cropping and overgrazing are exhausting the Earth's fertility and spreading the roots of hunger. Increasingly, the world's fertile farmland is under threat from erosion, salination and desertification. World hunger is a problem all over the world.
World hunger leads to other problems as well, for example, poverty and armed conflict. Most of the world’s hungry people live in developing countries. There are about 553 million hungry people in Asia and the pacific, 227 million in Africa, 47 million in Latin America/ Caribbean, and about 16 million in developing countries. Three-quarters of all hungry people live in rural areas, mainly in the villages of Asia and Africa. Overwhelmingly dependent on agriculture for their food, these populations have no alternative source of income or employment. As a result, they are vulnerable to crises. Many migrate to cities in their search for employment, swelling the ever-expanding populations of shanty towns in developing countries. So what are some ways that we can solve world hunger? Well we could prevent land grabbing, block the speculators, produce less bio-fuel, stop the meat feast, support small farmers, target infant nutrition, roll out biotech, or reduce poverty.
Preventing land grabbing is within our ability, but it would be kind of hard to police, because it is difficult to distinguish between genuine investment in Africa and the expropriation of land from the poor who need it to grow their food. But, what do I mean by preventing land grabbing? An ugly side of current scares over future food supply is wealthy, land-poor states, like those in the Gulf and South Korea, acquiring tracts of undeveloped countries to use as allotments. It is a campaigning cause of the multi-charity IF campaign against hunger. Ethiopia, Sudan, Madagascar and Cambodia have been targeted and a total area the size of Spain may already have been acquired. We could also support small farmers. Most African farmers are less productive than a US farmer was 100 years ago. There is a consensus between NGOs and governments that supporting and training small farmers is the best possible solution to future food security. A combination of aid, education in low-tech methods such as better rice planting and irrigation, and the introduction of better seeds and fertilizer could spark a green revolution in Africa, such as the one that transformed South Asia in the 20th century. Well, what’s the problem with this? Rich countries have proved poor at delivering on their aid pledges. Genetically modified crops are already part of these schemes.
Eliminating malnutrition (A malnourished person finds that their body has difficulty doing normal things such as growing and resisting disease. Physical work becomes problematic and even learning abilities can be diminished.) is achievable. It's within our reach," Bill Gates told the London summit, and many companies and rich nations are backing an African government-led plan to tackle it. Big improvements have already been made. The solution lies in education on good feeding techniques and getting the right nutrients to the mother and child from the beginning of pregnancy. Overall, malnutrition makes people poorer – it is responsible for an 11% decline in GDP in affected countries. If we eliminated malnutrition it could reduce poverty. Economic growth has long been seen as the key to reducing hunger. More trade, financial liberalization and open markets should aid the flow of food, of which there's no overall shortage. Successful poverty reduction in China has led some economists to predict there will be no more hungry people there by 2020.
Blocking the speculators could also be a resolution for world hunger. Huge sums of investment fund money have flooded into the commodities markets since the financial crisis, looking for returns no longer available in equities. Automated trading systems that exploit tiny flaws in the market and encourage volatility make it impossible for traditional traders to keep prices stable and hedge against spikes. But the problem with this is that it is much discussed in the G20 and G8, an international agreement on reforming and regulating the commodities markets looks no nearer than when the problem was first identified. Banks and investors have marshaled strong arguments against interference.
Producing less bio-fuel can reduce world hunger could greatly be within reach and could greatly reduce world hunger. The pressure to achieve targets on reduced carbon emissions from fossil fuel has seen rich countries turning sugar, maize and other food crops into ethanol and biodiesel. But, many economists doubt how important this issue really is in food price rises. Food and fuel prices are inextricably linked, so producing biofuel may lower food prices. A proportion of food crops have always been used for energy – 100 years ago 10% of the world's grain went to feeding horses. Second-generation biofuels won't use food crops, but wood, stalks and other waste.
Another idea to stop world hunger is; rolling out biotech. Huge gains could be available for health and agricultural productivity if the promises of genetic modification can be believed. Gene-splicing crops to help them withstand drought and flood may be vital. Pigs and chickens could have their digestive systems altered so that they eat food not required by humans, and pollute the environment less. But the problem with this is, There are risks with the technology, and no satisfactory regulatory system in place. Public distaste at the idea of GM, especially in Europe, is holding up research and stopping investment. Safer ideas, like stem cell meat fed on algae, are still far from production.
Citation sheet
"World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide." Hunger Statistics. World Food Programme, 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
"World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide." What Causes Hunger? World Hunger Programme, 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
"Israel Creates Drought Resistant ‘Super Plants’." United with Israel RSS. United with Israel, 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.