Hunger Issues

Alaina Woods

Hunger Issues

ENC 1102

March 19, 2013           

 

“A country like America has twice as much food on its shop shelves and in its restaurants than is actually required to feed the American people.”- Tristram Stuart: The Global Food Waste Scandal

            When thinking about the amount of food wasted in America, it’s actually possible to become scared. What’s scarier than that is reflecting upon the many people that could be fed with the food that America wastes as a country. World hunger is a major issue, whether it’s political, economic, or social. It’s actually sad that America contributes to World Hunger with the large amount of food wasted.

            Even though World Hunger is included in all issues, it’s especially major in politics. This is not the major cause of hunger, but it is a huge cause of it. Experts state that countries are “destined to be hungry”, for reasons such as civil war, bad politics, or corruption. There are also allegations that nations aren’t able to afford food, due to the prices which they are sold at. It’s true that America has plenty of food, and manufactures plenty on a regular basis, but it’s not a reasonable price for the targeted countries. Even though it seems as if money is the issue, it doesn’t have anything to do with the economy, but mostly politics. Even though people are hungry because their poor, politics could address poverty and change the current state of world hunger.

            We all know that nothing in life is free, nevertheless the food we eat to nourish our bodies. That’s where the economy comes in when it comes to world hunger. There’s no doubt that America’s economic system is not one to brag about, and the economy is a major blame of world hunger. However, the money Americans spend could feed a whole village, and more. Impoverished countries “ravaged by economic policies” are at risk for food deprivation. Global warming also has a major effect on the economy, and contributes to world hunger as well. In addition, weather conditions cause the prices of certain food items to skyrockets. Oil prices have increased as well, and that puts a sore on a third-world country’s economy. That’s the major reason why there is such a decrease in the food available, which causes an increase in world hunger.

            The last major contribution to world hunger is the damaging effect of social structures. Not only does this have an effect on third world countries, it often affects industrialized countries, such as the US. The mixture of failed policies and biased social structure will result in food insecurity of countless numbers of people. World hunger is usually based upon social class, and more than often the poor are included in the statistics of world hunger. The outrageous statistics of world hunger could only be decreased by more people who control their own economic destiny, and don’t have the government choose it for them. Another major contribution to the social cause of world hunger would be small amounts of people actually willing to give to those who are hungry and not sure where their next meal will come from. It’s extremely possible to partner with charities to support the cause. If one was to partner with Gleaners Food Bank, 100,000 families worldwide would be brought of hunger. (Fighting World Hunger)

            World hunger has rapidly increased, and will continue to increase as time goes on. There are many different causes of world hunger, and there are also roots to these causes. As mentioned before, politics has a major impact on world hunger. Politics don’t strive to improve world hunger, and address poverty. Also, economics contribute to world hunger because the economy rises and don’t use the money they have to support those in poverty. Lastly, social issues increase the statistics on world hunger. World hunger is defined by social class, which basically consists of economic status. Biased social structure results in food insecurity, and the numbers continue to rise. America wastes allot of food and money, and don’t seem to realize the change that could be made if we all stood together to make a change, and feed others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Kenny, Zoe. “The Economic Causes of World Hunger”.  Share The World’s Resources. October 24, 2007. Web. March 17, 2013

Porus Olpadwala. “Social Causes of Hunger” Economic and Political Weekly. Volume 28. July 3-10, 1991. March 17, 2013

“Charting A Path From Hungry To Healthy For Millions of People Worldwide”. March 17, 2013

Anup Shah. “Causes of Hunger Are Related To Poverty.” Global Issues. October 3, 2010. March 17, 2013