Jeff Talks

Where does starvation exist in the world today?  What are some of the causes of world hunger?  Are citizens of developed countries donating monetarily to the ongoing relief efforts?  In this article I will address these questions with the hope that by creating an understanding of the current world hunger situation, morally conscious individuals will do their part in contributing to the eradication of this unseen suffering.

It is a well known fact that there is enough food in the world to feed every human being on earth.  Sadly, malnutrition and hunger still afflict one out of every seven people in the world today.  Or, from a slightly different statistical perspective, the current world population is 4,712,200,000.   The number of malnourished is 797,900,000.  Therefore 17% of the world population is currently malnourished or starving.  No matter how you examine the issue, a current crisis is at hand.  Why is this so?

The causes of starvation are complex, but there are some common threads that seem to be associated with this problem.  First and foremost, starvation is caused by poverty.  To address the problem of world hunger then the problem of global poverty must be addressed.  Therefore, the question that we should examine is what are the causes of poverty.  A thorough discussion on the causes of global poverty is outside the purview of this article.  Entire textbooks have been written on the subject.   For our discussion,  it is suffice to say that one of the major causes of poverty is governments pursuing policies that inhibit self sufficiency. 

Areas of starvation are also characterized by persistent problems in cultivating food from lack of seed, arable land, and tools.  Those that can grow food, must deal with insects, drought, floods, and war, which can result in complete destruction of crops.  Historically, areas of Africa have experienced periodic locusts infestations, which can completely destroy crops.

Other causes of world hunger are related to the globalize system of food production.  The globalize system of food production and trade favors a reliance on export crops while discriminating against small-scale farmers and subsistence crops.   Many third world countries export out to much food while concomitantly not keeping enough food to sustain their own people.

AIDS is a significant cause of hunger.  In societies affected by AIDS, famine is more deadly and difficult to combat.  Why is this so?  AIDS attacks the most productive individuals within society.  Fewer productive people within society means fewer individuals to work the jobs that involve food production.  This is one contributor to the starvation currently taking place in Africa. 

Weather plays a major role in terms of the prevalence of starvation.  Areas of drought leads to non-useable land with subsequent famine.  This is well known.  But less well known is that floods can also lead to starvation.  Crops can be flooded and therefore destroyed, which in essence produces the same result as drought.  In both cases, weather can produce a complete lack of self