rxsocialchange

World hunger is a major global problem. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1.02 billion people are living without enough food. (http://www.fao.org/hunger/en/) Additionally, 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes each day, or one child every five seconds. Furthermore, according to the World Bank, 100-150 million people fell into poverty due to the spike in global food prices in 2008 and the global economic recession in 2009 and 2010. (http://www.bread.org/hunger/global/) Simultaneously, however, farmers in developing countries are forgoing their traditional crops to raise animals for the developed world. This means that they are feeding animals instead of themselves. For instance, according to GoVeg.com which cites Jeremy Rifkin, “The famine in Ethiopia did not occur because Ethiopian farmers could not produce food. On the contrary, during this crisis, which killed tens of thousands of people, European nations were actually importing grain from the impoverished country to feed European chickens, pigs, and cows. If the grain had been used to feed the Ethiopian people who grew it, the famine could have been averted.” Further, “In Guatemala [...] 75 percent of children under the age of 5 are malnourished, and yet the nation continues to produce and export 40 million pounds of meat to the U.S. every year.” (http://www.goveg.com/worldHunger-robbingPoor.asp)

Also, it takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of flesh, one acre of land to produce 20 pounds of protein from beef (versus 356 pounds of protein from soybeans), and more water is required for one pound of beef than a whole year’s worth of showers. Basically, the argument is thus: “If everyone on Earth received 25 percent of his or her calories from animal products, only 3.2 billion people could be nourished. Dropping that figure to 15 percent would mean that 4.2 billion people could be fed. If everyone went vegan, there would be more than enough food to nourish the world’s entire population—more than 6.3 billion people.” (http://www.goveg.com/worldHunger-animalAgriculture.asp)

Nonetheless, some argue that although world food production has actually increased even as the human population increased as never before during the 1950′s-1990′s thanks to the Green Revolution, it has high environmental costs and is not sustainable, and that most arable land is already farmed. So they argue the solution instead is genetic modification to increase yield, nutrition, pest protection, and tolerance to herbicides. (http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/food_supply/food.htm) However, there is a multitude of problems with genetically modified seeds, including high requirements of fertilizer, water, and pesticides, unreliability, and the expense of the constant need for patented genes each growing season, not to mention the sketchy health effects. This had led to debt and mass suicides. According to Vandana Shiva,

The spate of farmers’ suicides of recent years is a direct consequence of this unsustainable system: debt creating agriculture locks farmers into a spiral of expensive inputs, crop failure and low returns to farmers[2], when profits accrue exclusively to multinational corporations[3]. The case of Monsanto and Bt cotton in Andhra Pradesh is one of the most shocking examples of this, where the company pushed its GM cotton promising yields as high as 1,500Kg per acre, and instead delivering only 200Kgs. Crop failure added to farmers indebtedness, when the debt was originally created by the expensive purchase of agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and pesticides from the very same company. The failure of Bt Cotton in Andhra cost farmers losses of Rs 1 billion.

She also points out that India developed an agricultural system over the century that was self-sustainable, sovereign, and environmentally sound (i.e., they collected seeds after each harvest to reuse, didn’t use fertilizer or pesticides, and had reliable yields) before the economic, political, and corporate biopiracy and monopolies that is the cause of hunger and poverty today. She echoes the similar situation previously stated where a people starve while “even when warehouses overflow with grains and food rots in go-downs.” (http://www.navdanya.org/news/105-press-statement-creating-food-insecurity) This also happens even as the U.S. throws away half its food. (http://freegan.info/?page_id=58).

However, even if we all become vegan, don’t waste any food, and/or have genetically modified crops that actually increase yields, are environmentally sound, and don’t self-terminate, that doesn’t mean much if their situations and governments don’t allow for it. Before we even consider if there is enough food, we need to work with the governments.

As the name implies, world hunger is a global problem in which every country needs its own prescriptions, but discussing each one is beyond the scope of this post, so I will focus on Africa. But why should we care? Why Africa? And why focus on hunger when there are other problems such as HIV/AIDs, violence, and human rights abuses? Well, first off, we should care because access to food and clean water are natural rights. Because no one likes to see an emaciated, helpless child wondering why. Because we ourselves don’t like to feel the pangs of hunger night and day, not knowing if our next meal will ever come. The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights acknowledges the right to adequate food (http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/global/foodashumrgt/special.htm) and the UN General Assembly very recently declared water and sanitation to be human rights. (http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/07/28-8) It is high time we all acknowledge these rights.

The reason I choose to focus on Africa is because, according to Wikipedia, “African nations typically fall toward the bottom of any list measuring small size economic activity, such as income per capita or GDP per capita, despite a wealth of natural resources. In 2009, 22 of 24 nations identified as having “Low Human Development” on the United Nations’ (UN) Human Development Index were located in Sub-Saharan Africa^[1]. In 2006, 34 of the 50 nations on the UN list of least developed countries are in Africa.^[2] In many nations, GDP per capita is less than $200 U.S. per year, with the vast majority of the population living on much less. In addition, Africa’s share of income has been consistently dropping over the past century by any measure.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_Africa) While India scored worse than Sub-Saharan Africa on the Global Hunger Index with one million children dying each year from undernourishment, according to Shiva, I believe the U.S. and other Western countries owe a special debt to Africa for continually exploiting it throughout the last few centuries, and the Arab world also owes something. In brief, the Arab Slave Trade took 18 million slaves from Africa, the Atlantic Slave Trade took 7 to 12 million slaves, and the decline of the slave trade cause political instability. Then, the European powers began to colonize much of Africa’s territories, known as the “Scramble for Africa”. Only after World War II did African nations gain independence, with South Africa under apartheid until 1994. Presently, Africa is marked with much corruption, violence, and ethnic conflicts. Not the least of its problems is corporate exploitation, which consumers in more developed countries drive. For example, Firestone, the world’s largest rubber manufacturer, uses child labor to extract rubber in Liberia without paying taxes to the government. Africa is also the biggest supplier of oil for the United States. By now, many people should be aware of the Shell incident in the Niger Delta which resulted in the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_in_Nigeria) Basically, Africa has rich resources but cannot enjoy any of the wealth it produces due to the manipulation of the governments by corporations, human rights abuses, and degradation of the environment. (http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/world_news_3/the_exploitation_of_africa_s_land_and_people_5661.shtml) Therefore, not only should we care because of empathy, but because we, the Western world, are directly involved in perpetuating the exploitation of Africa and other less “developed” areas.

Africa is plagued with a plethora of problems, and poverty is arguable the most vital. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs states that physiological needs are primary and safety needs are secondary. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow’s_hierarchy_of_needs) While Maslow’s theory is arguably flawed, it admittedly more difficult for someone to worry and fight for safety and anti-corruption legislation when one has no strength. And one has no strength because of corruption. It is a vicious cycle, one that needs to break.

In order to formulate solutions, we need to find the causes of poverty, and these causes and solutions can apply to Africa as well as other countries and continents in principle. The causes are numerous. The first main reason is mismanagement of land. Originally, African farmers planted traditional crops that relied on rainfall and tolerant of the varying weather. However, with the introduction and use of the new crops American settlers brought over, such as maize, the crops often yielded nothing without enough water and fertilizer. Furthermore, whereas the traditional practices of companion and allowing post-harvest herd animals to graze enriched the soil and gave them alternative crops, the new practices of depending on monoculture and fences were devastating and depleted the soil. As observed in the Great Potato Famine in Ireland, if a people depend on one crop and the crop fails, famine results.

Another manifestation of the mismanagement of land is property rights. Though much of the land is arable and unused, it is owned by the descendants of European settlers or African tribes with ties to the government. Also, there are poor land registration systems which make it hard to get a mortgage. As such, those in most need of land are either slave laborers, left to starve, and/or use the land anyway often with violent consequences. According to Wikipedia, “It is estimated that a family of four can be made self-sufficient for about $300 (U.S.) – the cost of an Ox, a few hectares of land, and starter seeds. Historically, such programs have been few and far between, with much foreign aid being concentrated on the raising of cash crops and large plantations rather than family farms.^[8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_Africa) Distribution of land by the government is nothing new and is not “socialism”. The United States did it with the Homestead Act (though it dispossessed the Native Americans of their land and was involved with fraud and corporate use). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_Act)

Though attempts at land reform in South Africa and Zimbabwe, for example, have been made, land reform is rampant with corruption, is largely underfunded, and conflicts over land hinder any progress. According to Truthout:

Yomba Farm, which used to be owned by the Nicolle family, was one of the biggest farming enterprises in the country before the invasions. The cotton the farm once produced contributed 15 percent of the total national cotton requirement and the wheat produced added up to 10 percent of the national requirement.

…

Corruption within government structures has seen some of the agricultural implements being channelled to the politically connected instead of the needy farmers.

…

Moyo explains that the “willing-seller, willing-buyer” program in South Africa has not proceeded fast enough, partly because white farmers have artificially inflated prices of their landholdings. In 1994 South Africa promised a radical redistribution of agricultural land, which was supposed to transfer 30 percent of white-owned farms by 2014.

Almost 16 years later, they have transferred less than five percent. And most of these farms owned by emerging farmers are in dire straits and not productive. (http://www.truth-out.org/in-southern-africa-land-reform-is-underfinanced-and-failing62329)

Unfortunately, the foreign aid money for the transference of land from the European owners to needy Africans in Zimbabwe was given to Africans with ties to the government instead, which resulted in the withdrawal of the money.

Perhaps the largest reason for the needless persistence of poverty in Africa is misuse of money. Much of the money coming into the government is embezzled or improperly used instead of being used for its citizens’ needs. The government, corporations, and armed groups often allocate resources such as oil and business opportunities to itself and its supporters. (http://www.worldhunger.org/hes_obtaining_income.htm) Other problems include keeping people oppressed via election fraud or acts of terrorism (http://www.worldhunger.org/hes_people_oppressed.htm), international imperialism (e.g., “Lured by a new business model, wealthy nations flock to farmland in Ethiopia, locking in food supplied grown half a world away” – http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/22/AR2009112201478.html?sub=AR) and neglect of ordinary people, as demonstrated by Kenyan slum dwellers going hungry due to the high food prices. (http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=84577)

Most African nations have borrowed significant amounts of money in addition to $500 billion sent in the form of foreign aid. However, most of the money was spent on weapons, inappropriate projects (such as Ghana’s Akosombo dam, two-lane highways, and storage silos), or otherwise misappropriated, instead of going towards social services, and most of the huge debt comes from the interest.  Furthermore, foreign aid often discourages the governments from taxing corporations to attract foreign investment and allows the elites in those countries to pay little taxes. On the other hand, redistributing the wealth and taxing the corporations are likely to fuel political conflicts and drive away foreign industries. It’s somewhat of a catch-22. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_Africa#Misused_money)

Moreover still, other causes and problems include diseases such as water-born diseases, AIDs, and conflicts such as civil wars. Water-born illnesses are the single greatest cause of mortality mainly due to the mixing of sewage and water supplies, notwithstanding the fact that Africa has numerous rivers and some of the world’s largest freshwater lakes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_Africa#Disease) More cruel are the “weapons of war” used in the conflicts, such as rape, dismemberment, and even cannibalism.

There is also a theory called the cycle of poverty or “development trap” (which is predominately used to describe poverty in the more “developed” nations but I believe it applies here as well), whereby those in poverty cannot get out because of the lack of resources attributed to their poverty which perpetuates their poverty. Their children, in turn, are born into poverty, cannot escape, and pass it on to their children, and so on for at least three generations, according to Wikipedia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_of_poverty) And acccording to the Hutchinson Encyclopedia, the poverty cycle is unlikely to end unless there is outside intervention. (http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Cycle+of+poverty)

Perhaps the most tragic part of all this is that the exceptionally numerous, early deaths and extraordinary, inconceivable sufferings are wholly unnecessary.

I don’t mean to be an idealist or naive and realize that change can be difficult, but I have faith that a better world is possible. Someone who doesn’t is a fatalist. If people didn’t believe improvement is possible, the human population may have already been extinct due to disease, despots, and environmental annihilation. Scientists, humanists, and environmentalists have slowed the trend but the work is not complete, and we are doomed if we think it is. Even if the sun does burn out, the goal of happiness is here in the present, so whatever the future holds in 5 billion years, the only thing that matters is happiness and how to attain and maintain it. If a someone was given a choice between nothingness and happiness, the sane person would choose happiness (instead of sensual pleasures, Buddhism may promote emptiness, but is also life-affirming). That is what we’re here for and we might as well enjoy it while we can. We should also help others attain happiness because we sometimes need help attaining it ourselves. An apathetic world is a sad world.

Returning to the dilemma of poverty, I believe each cause should be remedies individually and that change comes from the bottom up as well as from the top down. Efficacy is perhaps doubled. The government should do their part and the citizens should engage in grassroots activism. One should also be mindful of the goal: a productive farm. How can we encourage the government to do its part? Firstly, instead of blindly sending money in foreign aid that is likely to be misused which further discourages aid, “developed” nations should agree to send contract-bound money attached to collateral, such as land, only if it is spent on agreed upon uses, mainly, social services. If the government fails to abide by the contract, the donating country can usurp the land and give it to the peasants.

Secondly, developed nations should engage in diplomatic talks with the governments and encourage them to ensure human rights. This requires effective, well-funded law enforcement composed of the citizens themselves, diverse oversight/ethics committees, and checks and balances between the branches of government. This is one of the uses the contract-bound money should be spent on. Of course, the corrupt governments may not be willing to agree to any terms, which is why they need to be continually budged and diplomacy and commerce are vital. The U.S. and Western Europe, for example, trade food and oil with African nations, under the deplorable conditions mentioned previously. They can promise more trade or less business relations depending on the treatment of citizens, as well as allied protection. There is the fear that the governments will accept less commerce at the expense of its citizens, which is why each government needs to be evaluated separately, but the boycott of oil and food will probably not be to the government and wealthy elites’ likings. Meanwhile, we can sneak in food for the citizens as we do for Gaza and be protected by international law as long as there is no violence on our part. The boycotts and petitions can be enacted by us, the citizens of the “first world”, and/or by legislation, but the government and corporate ties also need to be dissolved. It is counterproductive to send aid while simultaneously being complicit in exploiting Africa and its citizens. In addition to agreeing to the Fair Trade agreements (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade) and boycotting and petitioning Shell and Monsanto (which exploit the people), for instance, they need to be regulated (ensuring safety and monetary justice) both where they are registered and where they operate. Also, we can distribute appropriate and renewable seeds and equipment so the farmers won’t have to rely on Monsanto’s unreliable seeds. Clean water is also very crucial and the foreign aid money should be used for well-planned and constructed irrigation systems, perhaps with quality engineers and oversight from the U.S.

Thirdly, a decent constitution is imperative. Kenya fairly recently adopted a new constitution to replace the old, ineffective one. According to Truthout, “Two-thirds of the country’s 12.4 million voters cast their ballot in favor of a constitution that promises to limit the president’s powers, reform land ownership, devolve more power to the county level. The new constitution would also introduce a bill of rights for the first time in the country’s history.” (http://www.truth-out.org/kenya-passes-new-constitution62077) More of Africa’s poverty-stricken nations need to follow suit with pressure from developed nations. On top of that, grassroots activism, as led by the Landless Workers’ Movement of Brazil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landless_Workers’_Movement) and Landless People’s Movement of South Africa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landless_Peoples_Movement), can also prove to be quite effective. It’s almost impossible to mobilize a movement when one is starving, so humanitarian aid providing food and water is crucial.

Fourth, developed nations need to push the conflict-stricken nations to end the conflicts and wars, denounce the war crimes, and treat the victims. Of course, the U.S. needs to do the same. Although not with happy endings, wars and casualties can end, as demonstrated by history.

Lastly but definitely not least, we need to send humanitarian and medical aid to educate the people about safe sex, hand out condoms, and treat those with water-borne illnesses and HIV/AIDs.

It is said that if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, but if you teach the man to fish, you can feed him for a lifetime. However, he cannot fish if he’s on the brink of death. A head start is necessary. The goal is not to feed others forever, but to get them on their feet (rising from corporate oppression and governmental nepotism and kleptocracy) so they can be self-reliant. The task of resolving these problems, not even completely, is an uphill battle, but a battle that can be won if action is taken. We have seen that food and water aid comes up time and again, so regardless of whether poverty is directly caused by the West’s over-consumption, we have to acknowledge that the distribution of resources is highly unequal and often at the expense of slave-like labor, aside from the fact that it is not environmentally sustainable. We can all do our part as privileged citizens of the world to give back to the world in the form of food and water donations, petitioning, and voting for candidates who have our concerns in mind, for happiness’s sake.