World hunger

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Map of the proportion of undernourished people in the total population by country (2013)
A doctor measures the arm circumference of a malnourished child in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
After a decrease in hunger, it has risen significantly again since 2015. For more information on the figures, see the section Hungry People Around the World in the United Nations World Food Program article

The expression world hunger describes the situation in which people around the world suffer from undernourishment or malnutrition over the long term . The group of people suffers hunger due to a lack of food.

According to the definition of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations , chronic hunger is a person's condition that occurs as soon as their energy intake is consistently below 8,800  kJ (= 2,100 kcal ) per day. In addition to a lack of energy and protein, malnutrition can also result from a lack of individual nutrients, for example vitamins or minerals . This is to be distinguished from hunger that arises from acute famine . This is triggered by natural disasters or conflicts. Chronic hunger makes up the majority of today's world hunger.

According to the United Nations World Food Program , around 821 million people worldwide suffer from hunger (as of 2017), i.e. around one in nine (11%). According to the FAO, the number of people suffering from hunger fell by 216 million between 1990 and 2015, but rose again significantly in the following years. More people die from hunger and malnutrition than from HIV / AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Every year, according to Jean Ziegler, around 30–40 million people die of hunger or its immediate consequences (as of 2007). Children under the age of five are often affected. Every seventh person worldwide is underweight (as of 2014) and every fourth is chronically undernourished (as of 2012). Malnutrition contributes to the death of 3.1 million children under the age of five each year and worldwide, which corresponds to more than 45% of all deaths of children under the age of five (as of 2013).

98% of the hungry live in developing countries (779.9 million). Most live in Asia (511.7 million) and Africa (232.5 million), but also in Latin America (26.8 million), in the industrialized countries (14.7 million), in the Caribbean (7.5 million) and in Oceania (1.4 million).

causes

Everyone agrees that hunger has various causes. Which of these should be given how much importance, however, is controversial depending on the political standpoint and interests. Global warming will be of increasing importance in the coming decades .

Political, social and economic factors

Today hunger rarely arises from the fact that there is too little food in terms of quantity. Various social, political and economic factors prevent food from getting to those who need it.

50% of the hungry are small farmers who are mainly self-sufficient . Because they are poor, they cannot buy enough food when they need it and are threatened with starvation if their crops are poor or if they grow products for sale to buy food from the proceeds they cannot achieve a living price for their goods. 20% of the hungry are farm workers without their own land , another 20% live in urban slums , the remaining 10% are fishermen and ranchers. They too are prone to hunger because of their poverty. In many countries the situation is exacerbated by natural disasters (climatic fluctuations, drought, floods, etc.), armed conflicts, corruption and poor governance. A study by UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) shows that one cause of hunger crises lies in the fact that markets do not function according to the market efficiency hypothesis . This means that they send price signals that are distorted by investor behavior and that do not reflect the scarcity of a food.

In developing countries, food speculation often contributes to volatile and expensive prices. Families in developing countries often have to spend up to 70% of their income on food. When food prices rise and they spend more money on food, they have less resources to spend on education, health, clothing, and housing.

According to various observers, world hunger is not caused by a lack of production, but by unfair distribution. According to the UN, 1.3 billion tons of food are thrown in the trash every year, which is mathematically about four times as much as would be necessary to solve the hunger problem in the world. The amount of 300 million tons thrown away annually in the industrialized nations alone would be enough to feed all starving people.

Hunger is discussed as a social problem in industrialized countries. Overall, however, it is less serious than in developing countries. The causes are similar, however: increasingly unequal income developments and, in some industrialized countries, relatively high unemployment .

In the US, 10.8 million US citizens went hungry in 2005. In total there were even 35 million, that is one in eight Americans, who “had difficulties to eat”. Officially, however, there are no “starving people”, since since November 2006 the US government has been talking about people with “very low food security” instead. The aid organization New York Food Bank announced in June 2008 that three million New Yorkers , more than one in three, did not have enough money for food. In 2007, 1.3 million New Yorkers enlisted the help of soup kitchens . In the USA, the CDC estimates that 30% of the population have a BMI of over 30 kg / m² and are therefore considered obese. Socially weaker people (less educated, poorer) and disadvantaged minorities (Indians, blacks) are much more affected by obesity.

In January 2010, Feeding America (FA), formerly called America's Second Harvest , published its report “ Hunger in America 2010. ”. The Chicago-based organization serves 37 million people annually. According to their survey results, 37 million people in the US, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors, are not getting enough to eat.

growth of population

Course of world grain production per capita and year

The world population has almost quadrupled in the last century; between 1900 and 2003 it rose from 1.6 to 6.3 billion. In January 2006 the world population was 6.519 billion people and at the turn of the year 2014/15 around 7.28 billion people. The population is growing especially in developing countries. High population growth does not necessarily lead to hunger, but in many developing countries natural resources and the supply of jobs are not keeping pace with this, so that population growth (“ overpopulation ”) becomes a risk of hunger. See also: population development .

Overall, the available agriculturally usable area per capita is shrinking due to world population growth.

Nevertheless, the global average grain production per capita and year has so far increased steadily through the improvement of cultivation methods. Today there is an average of one kilogram of grain available per person per day. The calorie production from grain alone is therefore approx. 3000 kcal per person and day.

World trade structures

The structures of world trade are another cause of hunger in developing countries. World trade is dominated by the industrialized countries. Western Europe's share of global exports in 2000 was 39.5%, and North America's 17.1%. In contrast, Africa's share in 2000 was 2.3%.

The industrialized countries promote free world trade and therefore urge the developing countries to abandon import restrictions and not support their domestic agriculture with subsidies . However, the industrialized countries themselves subsidize their agriculture massively and use export subsidies to promote the export of production surpluses to developing countries (“ agricultural dumping ”). These surpluses are offered there at artificially reduced prices and compete with agriculture in developing countries. As a result, local farmers lose their local sales markets and have to limit their production to meet their own needs or stop entirely. As a result, entire countries can become dependent on imports. Such was Mexico once a leading producer of maize in Latin America, but today must import almost half of its corn requirements from the US.

In addition, the industrialized countries with trade barriers restrict the import of agricultural products from developing countries.

The industry is poorly developed in most developing countries. Many developing countries are dependent on the export of a single raw material. These economic structures date back to the colonial times, when the industrialized countries forced their colonies to export raw materials and at the same time to purchase their industrial goods. In 2001, 95% of all Guinea-Bissau exports were cashew nuts . In 2001, 76% of Burundi's export was coffee . 72% of all Jamaican exports was aluminum . These countries are hit hard by fluctuations in the price of these products, as the drop in the price of coffee and the consequences for coffee farmers around the world (“ coffee crisis ”) made clear.

The national debt of developing countries means that the countries concerned have to spend a large part of their economic output on interest payments abroad. As a result, they have fewer resources available for development and poverty reduction.

Competition for agricultural land and climate change

FAO Food Price Index 1990–2012

Since the Second World War , there has been a change in eating habits around the world. Meat consumption has risen sharply, especially in industrialized countries, and for some time also in emerging countries.

Today, many of the animals that are fattened for meat production are fed grain . Around a third of the world's grain harvest is used to feed farm animals. Only about 10% of the fed grain is converted into meat, the remaining 90% is lost for human consumption. In Brazil , one fifth of the arable land is already used to produce animal feed for livestock, and rainforest is still being felled to create more arable land . By reducing meat consumption, large areas of cultivation and grain could be used for human nutrition rather than for cattle.

Environmental protection organizations and scientists see a comparable problem in the increasing use of agricultural land for the production of biofuels . At the beginning of 2007, the prices for tortillas - a very common staple food there - rose in Mexico because more and more corn is being processed into bioethanol in the USA instead of being exported to emerging countries like Mexico. In early 2008, the UN World Food Program warned that biofuel production, increasing demand for animal feed for meat production and crop failures as a result of climate change were leading to rising food prices and increased hunger (see FAO Food Price Index ). There is controversial research on the causes of the food price crisis in 2007–2008 . → see main article: Evaluation of biofuels

On the other hand, biofuels also alleviate the pressure on rainforests and cultivated areas. When growing bioenergy from rapeseed, grain and sugar beet in Germany, in addition to the fuel itself, so-called by-products are also produced, which are used as protein-rich animal feed (rapeseed meal / cake, dry grain liquor, beet pulp / molasses). In 2010, around 2.3 million tons of animal feed were produced in Germany, which greatly reduced the import of soy meal from overseas.

The prices for rice and other staple foods rose sharply worldwide in 2007 and 2008, which in many countries, such as the Philippines , threatens the supply of low-income groups of the population. On the one hand, this is explained by the increasing prosperity in Asian countries, which leads to increased demand. On the other hand, it is discussed whether a possible shortage of global oil production (as a consequence of a global oil production maximum ) would already lead to an increase in the price of food through rising fuel prices.

Global warming will be of increasing importance in the coming decades . According to simulation studies published in 2012 by researchers at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex , the effects of climate change on global food production were initially massively underestimated. Previous studies have examined the consequences of gradual changes in temperatures and precipitation patterns. Extreme weather conditions and severe weather catastrophes have not yet been taken into account and would lead to drastic increases in grain prices.

AIDS epidemic

Main article: HIV / AIDS in Africa

In sub-Saharan Africa in particular, the AIDS epidemic is worsening food shortages. On the one hand, the disease reduces the workforce, and on the other hand, it increases the need for food and energy of those affected. AIDS primarily affects the middle generation. Children and old people are left behind. This means there is a shortage of workers. Valuable knowledge in handicrafts and agriculture can no longer be passed on to the next generation. This leads to an increase in hunger and malnutrition.

Possible solutions

Forecast for world nutrition and necessary changes from 1995 to 2025 (as of 1997)

The problem of global hunger and its solutions are complex. There is no magic formula. Depending on the region, the local social, political, economic, ecological and geographical conditions must be taken into account.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations believes that enough food can be produced to reduce world hunger. It is possible to combat both the causes and the effects effectively. On the one hand, the food supply and income of the poor must be increased by increasing their productivity. On the other hand, measures are required to provide these people with short-term care. In addition, the government structures in the affected countries must be strengthened in order to guarantee sustainable and equal basic services.

Another approach is to contain population growth, e.g. B. through government measures and increased sexual education on contraception. General education programs for girls and women can also help curb population growth; According to studies by the World Bank , the birth rate among women without schooling is three times higher than among those who have completed school. State-imposed measures such as China's one-child policy are controversial ; in densely populated African Rwanda , where the birth rate is around six children per couple, there are plans for a "three-child policy".

Another starting point is the improvement of agricultural production methods, in particular the promotion of more productive and environmentally friendly cultivation techniques and corresponding educational programs for farmers. Combating desertification is intended to prevent agriculturally usable land from being lost. In so-called innovative Food for Work projects by the UN World Food Program of the United Nations , WFP project participants are paid for their work with food so that in the future they can provide for themselves, their families and communities. In this way, smallholders can produce more food than their families need, sell the surplus and earn more if they learn better farming methods.

Undemocratic structures and poor governance stand in the way of fighting hunger in many developing countries. Targeted funding for democratic reforms and anti-corruption programs by international organizations could be used in this area. In its Global Hunger Index, the International Food Policy Research Institute compares the situation in 119 developing countries and Eastern European transition states over the past 25 years in order to strengthen the political will against hunger. Two-thirds of the countries had shown poor success. Ten African countries are at the bottom of the list, Burundi last: They all suffer (indirectly) from war (s). Stable countries like Ghana and post-war countries like Mozambique , Ethiopia and Angola have made "impressive progress" over the past decade. In Asia , in particular , it has been shown that positive economic development results in a better position in the global hunger index, where investments are made in agriculture, education and health care. India is an example of poor government work - with many malnourished children despite the economic boom.

Many international aid organizations are increasingly relying on school feeding programs . Free school meals significantly increase the number of children and especially girls who are sent to school. At the same time, children whose stomachs do not growl with hunger can concentrate better on class. This gives them the chance to break the cycle of hunger and a lack of education. The United Nations World Food Program supports over 20 million children in developing countries with school meals every year.

A further step could be a reform of world trade structures, such as the dismantling of the billion dollar export subsidies with which the industrialized countries export their agricultural surpluses to developing countries at a lower price and thus compete with local small-scale agriculture. Other measures could include debt relief, higher and more efficient development aid and ensuring fair raw material prices. In addition, better access for agricultural products from developing countries to the markets of industrialized countries is often demanded. However, it is questionable whether higher agricultural exports will help the hungry. Most of the time, the export proceeds only benefit a small layer of large landowners . In many countries, land ownership is very unevenly distributed, with the majority of the hungry being landless farm workers and small farmers. In many places, land reforms would be an approach to addressing the causes of hunger and poverty.

Food waste in industrialized countries is not unimportant in combating world hunger. Of the 80 kilograms of food that every German throws away each year, 50 kilograms are avoidable.

Individual researchers are also investigating basic income concepts to combat hunger. Frankman and Busilacchi are considering a globally levied eco tax or a stock exchange transaction tax to finance such a transnational basic income. A study by the NGO FIAN found that the transfer volume would tend to decrease in the case of a basic income. According to this study, if a country like Germany were to pay less than the amount it would have to pay in development aid anyway, namely 0.24% of its gross domestic product, into an international basic income fund for food, hunger could be erased at one stroke.

Movies

literature

See also

Web links

Wiktionary: World hunger  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ World Food Program (WFP): Hunger in the World. World Food Program (WFP) , archived from the original on September 2, 2009 ; accessed on January 7, 2013 .
  2. ^ FAO: Hunger Portal, Basic Definitions. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) , archived from the original on December 20, 2009 ; Retrieved September 3, 2012 .
  3. ↑ 2018 The state of food security and nutrition in the world. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) , accessed January 1, 2019 .
  4. ↑ A child who dies of starvation is murdered. World Food Program (WFP) , archived from the original on January 17, 2009 ; Retrieved October 22, 2008 .
  5. ↑ Hunger statistics. Archived from the original on June 22, 2012 ; Retrieved April 24, 2016 .
  6. ↑ a b Climate change: 50 percent threatened by hunger. In: science.orf.at . January 8, 2009; archived from the original on December 12, 2013 ; Retrieved January 8, 2008 .
  7. ^ Price Formation in Financialized Commodity Markets, accessed from http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/gds20111_en.pdf
  8. ↑ WFP: Roller Coaster Ride in Food Prices
  9. ^ "Throwing away food is pointless" report on Zeit Online, January 22, 2013
  10. ↑ US government renames starving citizens . In: Der Tagesspiegel , November 22, 2006, p. 32, Weltspiegel
  11. ^ Poverty - Hungry in New York . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , June 14, 2008
  12. ↑ CL Odgen, MD Carroll, LR Curtin, MA McDowell, CJ Tabak, KM Flegal: Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States , 1999-2004. In: JAMA. 295, No. 13, April 2006, pp. 1549-1555.
  13. ↑ Stephen Lendman: Growing Hunger in America . In: Baltimore Chronicle , February 9, 2010.
  14. ↑ World Population Report at the end of 2014
  15. ↑ James A. Paul, Katarina Wahlberg: A new era of world hunger? (PDF; 15 kB) In: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Briefing Paper, July 2008
  16. ↑ Deutsche Welthungerhilfe ( Memento from February 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Article is no longer available! 5th May 2016
  17. ↑ The Earth - Our Habitat , ISBN 3-906720-50-0 , p. 289
  18. ^ "Meat Atlas", data and facts about animals as food, 2013 (PDF; 3.3 MB)
  19. ↑ Save the Rainforest e. V. ( Memento of January 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  20. ↑ Full tanks, empty plates . In: Spiegel Online
  21. ↑ Guardian Online: Feed the world? We are fighting a losing battle, UN admits
  22. ↑ Figures and graphics from the Renewable Energy Agency ( Memento from June 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  23. ↑ Michael Odenwald: Warming in six regions of the world. Shock scenarios: Climate change is fueling hunger in the world. In: www.focus.de. September 15, 2012, accessed September 13, 2019 .
  24. ↑ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. 2013. Hunger and malnutrition have many causes . Background.
  25. ^ To Die Grüne Gentechnik , Bonn 1997
  26. ↑ FAO: Hunger Portal - How can Hunger be reduced? , (English, accessed August 23, 2013)
  27. ↑ Government plans law: only three children per couple on n-tv .
  28. ↑ [1]
  29. ↑ [2]
  30. ↑ Welthungerhilfe / International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) / Concern Worldwide, 2012 Global Hunger Index , PDF (4.4 MB), accessed on August 23, 2013
  31. ↑ [3]
  32. ↑ Meat consumption
  33. ↑ a b c [4]
  34. ↑ Basic food income - option or obligation? ( Memento from June 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive )