1 9. Hunger as an Ethical Issue Larry D. Sanders Spring 2002 Dept. of Ag Economics Oklahoma State University

2 INTRODUCTION u Purpose: –to understand ethical issues related to hunger u Learning Objectives: 1. To become aware of population and hunger trends. 2. To understand the key ethical issues/questions related to hunger and connections to population growth.

3 Food Nutrition/Health Policy Options u Education u Labelling u Food Assistance –Food Stamps –Food Distribution Programs –School Lunch Programs –WIC –Welfare Reform u Free Market

4 World Hunger u AREA POPULATION FOOD u ASIA 40% 15% u AFRICA 10% 5% u L. AMERICA 10% 10% u EUROPE 25% 45% u N. AMERICA 10% 25% u OTHER 5% 1%

5 World Hunger (cont.) u Each minute 28 humans die from hunger & malnutrition –21 are children –Equals a “Hiroshima” every 3 days u Chronic Malnutrition: 10% of World Population

6 World Hunger (cont.) u 2 x Deaths in All Wars Past 150 yrs = Hunger Deaths in Past 5 yrs u 250,000 infants/small childrean die each week from diet-related, “easily” preventable diseases u Thousands more--diet- related blindness & physical & mental retardation

7 HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH, ESTIMATED & PROJECTED (3 Million BC-2036) MILLION HUMANS YEAR 8000 BC5-10 MIL BC20 MIL 3000 BC50 MIL BC100 MIL MIL MIL MIL BIL BIL BIL BIL???

8 World Hunger (cont.) u Not a food production problem u Economics--poverty--is the problem

9 World Hunger (cont.) u Economic development is the key u Education is the foundation for economic development u But... –What is the carrying capacity of earth? –What pressures can we expect to worsen? »Economic? »Physical? »Sociopolitical?

10 “The Tragedy of the Commons” & “Lifeboat Ethics” (Garrett Hardin--VP) u Common resources (oceans, air, public land) will be overused/ exploited u Price mechanism or property rights necessary to ration u “Free” food would lead to even greater tragedy (larger population crash) u “Carrying capacity” important u Alternative view: Lifeboat view (utilitarian) forces competitive view (human-human & human-nonhuman) rather than cooperative view

11 Foreign Agricultural Assistance: Ethical Issues (TMR) u An issue of distributive justice u Charity? u Human survival/ decency? u Strategic measures? u Emergency assistance vs. Development assistance?

12 Some Ethical Questions: Is Hunger a Reason to-- u Legally restrict human reproduction? u Encourage population control? u Restrict/eliminate meat consumption or grain for animal feed? u Promote biotechnology to grow more food? u Sacrifice habitat/species/ ecosystems to grow more food? u Do little/nothing & let nature restore a balance? u Discontinue technological solutions/ health care that expand longevity and/or reduce death rates and/or increase birth rates?

13 More Ethical Questions: If we save people from hunger-- u How do we/they suffer the reduced quality of life? u How do we/they accept the near certain increases in crime/violence/war? u How do we/they handle increased pressures on natural resources? u How do we/they handle increased pressures on social infrastructure? u Can we continue to count on the technological fix?

14 Team Exercise u Using the “human population” lecture & the “carrying capacity” handout & Hardin’s articles: 1. Discuss the issues of agricultural production and natural resource management. 2. Consider alternative policy options to address these issues. 3. Outline/summarize the recommended evolution of the “social contract” with agriculture in the next years with respect to environmental issues.