Global hunger –myth or fact?

1. There is a global food shortage The world produces 17% more food per person today than 30 years ago The rate of food production has increased faster than the rate of population growth for the past 2 decades The world produces enough to provide every human with nearly 2900 calories per day The real problem is access to this food (poverty) They can’t afford food or they can’t get to local markets (might live in a food desert) They might not have enough money to purchase farmland

2. Most of the world’s hungry live in Africa Most live in the Asia Pacific region – 511 million Asia is home to 2 out of 3 of the world’s undernourished Worst in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh Africa – 232 million Percentage has decreased but number has increased Least progress seen here Latin America – 34 million Developed countries – 15 million

3. Men are the world’s primary food producers Women produce more than half of all food worldwide, accounting for 43% of the global agricultural labor force In Sub-Saharan Africa, women grow 80-90% of the food Women also process food crops, collect water and firewood, and prepare and cook food

4. Resolving hunger means ensuring people have enough to eat A “hidden hunger” occurs when people have enough to eat but don’t receive adequate nutrition from their food More than 2 billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiency In developing countries about 40% of preschool children are anemic (missing iron) 250 million children are vitamin A deficient (causes blindness) Iodine deficiency is one of the main causes of impaired cognitive development in children

5. Hunger is solely a health issue Hunger also affects politics, education, and the economy Hungry people struggle to focus, learn, and contribute to society Political unrest may result if people are hungry and feel the government is to blame A study in Guatemala found that boys who received fortified food before the age of 3 grew up to have wages 46% higher than those who didn’t

6. Global hunger is worsening The 2014 Global Hunger Index showed that hunger in developing countries has fallen by 39% since 1990 There are still dramatic differences from region to region Populations are growing in some regions, producing a greater difference between people and available food East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean have met the Millennium Development Goal of cutting the proportion of hunger people in half between 1990 and 2015

7. Obesity is only a problem for developed countries There are 904 million obese people in developing countries, compared to 557 million in industrialized nations Obesity rates in Latin America, the Middle East, and North Africa are on par with Europe Obesity rates since 1980 have almost doubled in China and Mexico, and risen by a third in South Africa This is a result of globalization, better economies, and people making poor food choices

8. Food producers can feed themselves People who produce the world’s food don’t necessarily eat that food Cash crops often can’t be eaten – tobacco, coffee, tea Half of the world’s hungry people are from small farming communities, where families are prone to drought and flood

9. Droughts and other natural disasters are to blame for hunger Nature is only one factor when it comes to hunger Communities that have infrastructure in place – irrigation systems, storage facilities, and roads to connect them to markets – are in better shape when disaster hits Food crises are more often linked to human causes, such as civil war or ethnic cleansing, than natural disaster

10. U.S. foreign aid is the best way we can help the hungry Some countries may feel threatened by U.S. aid, since food aid may be used as a tool of foreign policy U.S. food aid is predominantly “tied aid,” meaning the food must be grown, processed, and packaged in the U.S. and shipped overseas This benefits U.S. private interests and makes food shipments more costly Many European donor nations have “untied” their food aid This is a “band aid” fix that may be critical in times of crisis, but isn’t getting to the root of the problem in the hungry countries