The World Hunger Crisis: What are YOU doing about it?

[phoenixgw]

http://www.wfp.org/aboutwfp/introduction/hunger_who.asp?section=1&sub_section=1

31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:31-41 www.biblegateway.com)

Just asking.

 

[The Nihilist]

eating as much as I can before the food runs out?

 

[GrannieAnnie]

There's all sorts of hunger as you've pointed out.....if you're asking a personal question...then my answer is, yes, I am doing my best, in my small part of the world to feed Christs hungry....but how I am doing it is between me and God. But thanks for asking.

 

[Yusuf Evans]

Considering that the US is the most obese nation in the developted world, I'd say we are contributing to the global food shortage.

 

[Steezie]

I support the nationalization and opening up of our food market, selling or giving excess food to nations in need rather than destroying it to maintain market prices.

 

[Verv]

I donate to a charity called Heifer International which uses really interesting, dynamic ways to bring lasting food supplies of people. They donate farm animals and plants to villages in impoverished areas which greatly effect the lives of the people -- people who were previously malnourished due to lack of milk getting cows, etc.

It's a really great charity that I recommend to everyone.

 

[Steezie]

I donate to a charity called Heifer International which uses really interesting, dynamic ways to bring lasting food supplies of people. They donate farm animals and plants to villages in impoverished areas which greatly effect the lives of the people -- people who were previously malnourished due to lack of milk getting cows, etc.

It's a really great charity that I recommend to everyone.

I'd rather push for economic reform of how we handle our food grown here in the US. Every year the US destroys excess stocks of food to maintain market prices of foodstuffs. They also pay farmers not to produce certain things. That needs to change and will have a far more profound effect if changed than a charity will. In my opinion

 

[Verv]

I'd rather push for economic reform of how we handle our food grown here in the US. Every year the US destroys excess stocks of food to maintain market prices of foodstuffs. They also pay farmers not to produce certain things. That needs to change and will have a far more profound effect if changed than a charity will. In my opinion

I agree with that -- instead of destroying the crops we should buy the excess and foot the bill to ship the items to nations who need it. That is not only rational but great...

I bet even if we simply set up a private charity that took the excess and paid for the logistics of the issue itself it would be a popular charity.

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

The problem is globalization and the relentless pursuit of the free market utopia.

The problem is not the amount of food available, but its price.

The problem is not that we do not deliver our surplus food to other nations, but that we destroy their own market and agrarian production by making it impossible for their farmers to get by; creating dependencies and impoverishing them.

We thought the downfall of the Soviet block substantiated the position of laissez faire capitalism. We were wrong. It only takes capitalism a little longer to wreck itself and everyone connected to it than its ideological antithesis.
We've never considered the possibility that both sides might have been wrong in this conflict. Utopian visions never work out, whether it's the Free Market or the Communist paradise.

 

[Verv]

The problem is globalization and the relentless pursuit of the free market utopia.

The problem is not the amount of food available, but its price.

The problem is not that we do not deliver our surplus food to other nations, but that we destroy their own market and agrarian production by making it impossible for their farmers to get by; creating dependencies and impoverishing them..

Actually, it is the subsidies that the South Koreans, the Americans and the Europeans use that murder the economies of third world nations. They are the ones with the competitive edge in agriculture -- their production costs are a fraction of our own.

However, countries especially like South Korea and Japan have erected total moratoriums on the importation of foreign rice -- same with cattle and pork products. China's agricultural industry could be booming right now if it were not for what Korea and Japan have erected as laws to save their own farmers at the expense of others.

Nothing is perfect, but the Invisible Hand at least irons out a lot of the wrinkles. But if the shirt is an ugly color nothing we can do can make it a nice one.

There is no perfect system... Just systems that approach perfection.

 

[Gremlins]

The problem is quite clearly one of demand, not one of supply; this year's harvest was a record high at 5% more than last year's. The current crisis has to do with rising meat consumption (it takes 8 kilos of grain to produce 1 kilo of cow), China hoarding grain to keep prices down, biofuels driving up the price of wheat and corn, and beggar-thy-neighbour policies from the EU and USA (and Africa, where nations have to import their staples because they won't trade rice or maize with each other, so local farmers grow cash crops instead). And the rising cost of ammonia.

 

[quatona]

The problem is globalization and the relentless pursuit of the free market utopia.

The problem is not the amount of food available, but its price.

The problem is not that we do not deliver our surplus food to other nations, but that we destroy their own market and agrarian production by making it impossible for their farmers to get by; creating dependencies and impoverishing them.

We thought the downfall of the Soviet block substantiated the position of laissez faire capitalism. We were wrong. It only takes capitalism a little longer to wreck itself and everyone connected to it than its ideological antithesis.
We've never considered the possibility that both sides might have been wrong in this conflict. Utopian visions never work out, whether it's the Free Market or the Communist paradise.

QFT

 

[Maren]

My understanding is that world hunger has less to do with supply than with distribution. From the evidence I've seen we have enough food to feed the world, just that the infrastructure isn't there to move the excess food from 1st World Countries to the starving people in the Third World. Not to mention the political problems, that often when food does reach a country corrupt politicians use it for their own purposes rather than to feed their people.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Just asking.

I am supporting free trade and global capitalism. This is the only effective long-term solution to world hunger.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Eudaimonist]

I am supporting free trade and global capitalism. This is the only effective long-term solution to world hunger.

QFT

 

[quatona]

I am supporting free trade and global capitalism. This is the only effective long-term solution to world hunger.

Could you elaborate a bit more on that theory?

 

[Eudaimonist]

Could you elaborate a bit more on that theory?

Short term solutions, such as charity and governent aid, are merely patches on the problem. They are short-term solutions at best, and can even make the problems worse.

Captalism and free trade is the ultimate solution because it solves the problem of distribution by getting food to be grown where it can be grown most efficiently and cheaply, and providing incentives for distribution through trade.

This approach hasn't been tried in any consistent way, but to the extent it has been tried, however imperfectly, captalism and trade have improved food production and taken a large part in reducing world hunger. It can do much better, but that would require governments to stop trying to affect prices in various meddlesome ways.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[quatona]

Short term solutions, such as charity and governent aid, are merely patches on the problem. They are short-term solutions at best, and can even make the problems worse.

Captalism and free trade is the ultimate solution because it solves the problem of distribution by getting food to be grown where it can be grown most efficiently and cheaply, and providing incentives for distribution through trade.

This approach hasn't been tried in any consistent way, but to the extent it has been tried, however imperfectly, captalism and trade have improved food production and taken a large part in reducing world hunger. It can do much better, but that would require governments to stop trying to affect prices in various meddlesome ways.

Thanks.
I am by no means an expert in these matters, but from what I know (and from what sounds reasonable) the industry of "1st world nations" is not so much interested in effective ways of growing food where it´s needed, but more in exploring future markets for the seeds that grant them the greatest and longest-lasting profits in that they drive the local farmers into dependency on buying their products.
Do you see this problem? If so, how do you think this problem (and similar systemic problems) can be solved (or solves itself) in a pure "free trade and global capitalism" scenario?

 

[phoenixgw]

Capitalism and free trade only works if there are anti-trust laws that are strictly enforced. This has not been the case. So, instead of the simple laws of "supply and demand" and the "invisible hand" that are supposed to correct the market, we have a system that ultimately fails the consumer.

Right now we have oil and grain cartels in control of most of the oil and food supply, creating a virtual monopoly on these goods and services.

As a result, instead of the law of supply and demand, we now have the monopoly rule of "demand and supply." This difference is that these cartels can dictate the demand (and the price of their products) by controlling the supply, effectively holding the market hostage as they are now. This has resulted in the price of grain doubling and the price of crude oil jumping to over $100/barrel.

There are no competitors that are going to offer cheaper grain or a cheaper form of fuel or transportation because these cartels have bought and buried many of these alternatives and have lobbied govts. for barriers to keep potential competitors out. Do you really believe that petroleum fuel is the only way to obtain energy to power transportation systems? Yet that is the only widely available option right now.

When the Monopoly game is over, people pack up and go home while the winner counts the money. In real life, this Monopoly game results in someone dying because of starvation every 3.5 seconds. In the time that you took to read this, about 24 people have died.

 

[trivista]

I agree with that -- instead of destroying the crops we should buy the excess and foot the bill to ship the items to nations who need it. That is not only rational but great...

I bet even if we simply set up a private charity that took the excess and paid for the logistics of the issue itself it would be a popular charity.

Of course by doing that our drive down the prices of food in those other countries making it just that much harder for the local farmers to make a profit so they can plaint again the next year.

Makes them depended on the US.