The Causes Of Famine And Poverty

The causes of world hunger are at once intimidatingly complex and stunningly simple, depending on the underlying ideological assumptions which inform one's approach to the problem. For the uninformed, the cause of world hunger might seem to be quite obvious, because the concept of hunger is ostensibly simple; being hungry means a lack of food, so world hunger must be caused either by a lack of food on a global scale or overpopulation. Put another way, the easy answer to the question of world hunger is to suggest that there is either too little food or too many people, but in reality, neither of these scenarios prove to be the case. Instead, research has shown that human beings produce more than enough food for the global population, and that world hunger stems not from a lack of food overall, but rather an inequitable distribution of wealth, which precludes certain populations from being able to purchase the food they need, or else prompts localized overpopulation due to insufficient family planning and local resources. Thus, poverty is ultimately the cause of world hunger, but to understand why one must investigate the nexus between capitalism, poverty, global trade, and world hunger, because far from being the product of hard limits regarding the amount of food or size of the population, world hunger is almost entirely the result of social forces which have conspired together to impoverish and starve millions for the sake of a privileged few.

Most of the world’s hunger and malnutrition is located in poverty stricken areas. In fact, ninety-eight percent of food deprivation is in developing countries. One of the leading reasons to this, is the high level of poverty in these areas. People living in poverty often don’t have enough money to afford food, and when they do, it generally doesn’t have enough nutrition to keep a human body running properly. On average, 896 million people in developing countries live on fourteen dollars or less a week. This income prevents people from being able to purchase food, causing malnutrition. Hunger is the main devastation of poverty and “is often called the most severe and critical manifestation of poverty”, mainly due to low the low income of most

Many people do not realize that hunger and malnutrition is a problem that many Americans face on a daily basis. Maybe, we are failing to realize that our country is not perfect, but if we don’t try to do anything then more and more children will die. The problem with child hunger is that the United States may not face as dramatic problems with hunger as that of other countries, but

Hunger in America happens every year to homeless people,kids, and adults,as sad as it is even new born babies. This could happen to anyone why? There is several reasons maybe some people don’t have the money. What if you were that person how would you live knowing that your child isn’t getting proper nutrition? Many people don’t seem to realize how much this really happens. one in 7 people in the United States face trying and struggling to get food to eat, and more than 12 million American family’s face hunger. Food insecurity is harmful to all people, but it is especially devastating to children. Proper nutrition is what a child’s needs to help with their development or you can say growing. Did you know that while hunger is nonstop - African

“Some kids don’t get enough to eat, no matter what people tell themselves,” says Anna Quindlen on the topic of child hunger. In the United States child hunger is not as major as it is in other countries but, that doesn’t mean that is doesn’t exist. The problem of child hunger is virtually ignored in first world countries like the U.S. because of how increasingly worse it is in many third world countries such as Africa. Anna notices this problem and wishes to educate others on the topic and inform the reader on the problem.

One of the most known and talked about famines in history was the Irish Potato Famine, or otherwise known as the Great Famine. The worst famine that occurred in Europe during the 19th century. The Great famine is characterized as a time of mass starvation and disease. The effects of this famine were so great that it drove a significant amount of Ireland’s population out of their country. This included my own ancestors. They were forced to migrate to the United States due to a lack of food. The Great Famine has a direct effect to myself and my family. This assignment gave me an opportunity to take time and fully comprehend the cause and effects of an event that has a direct effect to my own family.

In 1845 a disease reached Ireland from continental Europe via England. Between 1846 and 1849 the Irish potato crop failed three seasons out of four. By 1849 the worst was over. But the distressing nightmare of those 6 years 1845‐51 had created radical and long-term changes on the Irish society. The greatest change was the decline of the population and this was due to deaths from hunger and disease and emigration. The famine was a watershed in the history of Ireland. Its effects permanently changed Ireland’s demographic, political, cultural and religious landscapes.

The Great Ireland Potato Famine was a horrible event that had many lasting effects. Some of these effects were starvation, disease, poverty, emigration, and lost traits. These effects plagued mostly western Ireland, but had an overall effect on all of Ireland. Many of the traditional ways of economics and society changed drastically because of the famine. Many people also blamed the British for letting the famine get so bad. These effects will be discussed throughout the paper.

There are several circumstances to take into consideration when looking at the causes of the Great Potato Famine in Ireland. Due to the great dependence the Irish people had on the potato, it is clear how blight could devastate a country and its people. To understand the Irish people's dependence on the potato for diet, income, and a way out of poverty, it is necessary to look at several key

Child hunger is an ongoing problem all around the world, but it is statistically more severe in the developing world, with 1 out of 6 children suffering from malnutrition and malnourishment. Africa has the countries with the most staggering child hunger rates; with 2,500 children dying daily from starvation (Borgenproject). Starvation and malnutrition have significant negative impacts on a child’s cognitive and neurological function, organ function and formation, and their physical growth. More importantly, starvation leaves children vulnerable to other serious diseases, stunt growth, and eventually, death. As someone living in the United States, it is difficult to make child hunger in Africa a priority, because one is literally and figuratively so far away from the issue, as well as misinformed and lacking the resources necessary to tackle the different causes that lead to child hunger in Africa.

A sign many dying communities is poverty and food insecurity specifically these two things only because they are signs of a community not only struggling to find jobs to support themselves but also as a result not having money to support there own health. Poverty is an annually earned income that falls below the threshold or average for that community. Food insecurity is sometimes the result of poverty food insecurity is the limited or uncertain ability to obtain nutritionally adequate or safe foods. Specifically there is one person in the Charleston, Il area who has taken action to note these growing problems in the Charleston area.

Poverty is famine. Poverty is the absence of protection. Poverty is the fear of what’s going to happen tomorrow. Poverty is losing your child because of the lack of a doctor. It’s the problem everyone tries to escape. It’s the one thing that makes you feel trapped and powerless. In the world there are about 22,000 children that die every single day because of the conditions(The Hunger Project).

However, Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel of England knew about the Famine and made a scientific commission to find the cause along with the remedy. Despite Peel and the commission’s efforts, it was useless since technology wasn’t as advanced as it is today. As a substitute, Peel imported maize and tried to sell it at a low price so the market would stay down. But the British repealed Peel. So ¼ of the population or 2 million people lived in squalor due to the lack of help. Many also lived in workhouses with the worst living conditions so they wouldn’t live off the rates. Public works, or places to help the poor find work, were also set up so they could afford to buy food. In the summer of 1846, free trade became more restricted. Farmers in England and eastern Ireland received an increase in prices for grain because of heavy tariffs on foreign imports. This influenced all producers to steer clear of selling in Ireland. The rich Irish weren’t always charitable either with their own people either. They sold crops to the English for the highest market price since they weren’t required to sell in Ireland and they would refuse to interfere with free market of oats, wheat and barley.

The foremost cause of global poverty is colonialism. After Christopher Columbus “discovered’’ the new world in 1492, Europeans invaded the Americas, Africa, and East Asia. Today, these places are some of the most affected by poverty. The poverty persists because the peoples of these places were killed and enslaved. Their land, natural resources, and way of life were stolen by the colonizers. The colonizers forced the colonies to shift from subsistence farming to cash crops, obliterating the natural economy. Since they only grew cash crops, they were forced to buy European goods. The economy of the colonies became locked and they became completely dependent on the colonizing country. Soon, the colonies found themselves in debt to their colonizers. What little money these colonies were able to make went to repay the debt, instead of going toward the development of the colony. Additionally, since they were indebted to them, their colonizers had control over their economy. The creditors took full advantage of this and forced the colonies to adopt neoliberalism and privatize companies and resources, which plunged even more people into absolute poverty. Even when many of these colonies became their own independent countries, the documentary mentioned that the debt was transferred over to the new country, even though this was a violation of international law. This same system continues to this day and everyday more and more people find themselves in poverty.

“The reasons poverty rates remain high despite the [economic] recovery has to do with wage decline and failure of the “safety net” i.e, the government systems of taxes and transfers designed