ENDING HUNGER WORLDWIDE

George KentUniversity of Hawai’i

1. NUTRITION PROBLEMS

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We talk about hunger in the world as if it were a scourge that all of us want to see abolished. That rather innocent view prevents us from coming to grips with what causes and sustains hunger.

2. WIDENING GAPS

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In 1960 gross domestic product per capita in the richest 20 countries was 18 times that in the poorest 20 countries.

By 1995 this gap had widened to 37 times.

In 2008 that ratio was well over 75.

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POPULATION EXPLOSION OR

CONSUMPTION EXPLOSION?

“. . . one person in the United States will, by 4 AM in the morning of January 2, already have been responsible for the equivalent in climate change causing carbon emissions that a Tanzanian would take a whole year to generate.”

THE BENEFITS OF HUNGER

When poor people work cheaply, others get inexpensive goods.

People at the high end are not rushing to solve the hunger problem. For many of them, hunger in the world is not a problem, but an asset.

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Hunger persists because of the powerlessness of the poor and the indifference of, and exploitation by, the rich.   

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WHY HUNGER PERSISTS

The powerful have the capacity but not the will to address the problem.

The powerless have the will but not the capacity.

3. FOOD TRADE

Concentration of Wealth and Power Subsidies Foreign interests take the benefits from

agriculture in poor countries Grabbing Land and Sea Free Trade Agreements Food Trade Remedies

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Trade does not benefit the trading parties equally. The party with greater bargaining power is likely to benefit more.

This means that trade contributes to widening the gap between the strong and the weak.

This explains why the the strong are vigorous advocates of free trade. The weak are more likely to benefit from self-sufficiency.

5. THE HUMAN RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD

Global Recognition of the Right to Food The Human Right to an Adequate

Standard of Living Food in International Human Rights Law General Comment 12 Voluntary Guidelines Dignity: Dignity comes from providing

for oneself, not from being fed.

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7. NUTRITIONAL SAFETY NETS

By definition, safety net programs establish a lower limit to how far people are allowed to fall by providing services to those who are most needy.

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8. HOUSEHOLD FOOD PRODUCTION

Methods of HFP Beyond Primary Production Cautions Networking Using the Internet Community-based Food

Production The Role of Government Political Significance 

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DO-IT-YOURSELF SAFETY NETS

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Being able to produce your own food is a kind of safety net. With that protection, the quality of life cannot be pushed below a certain limit.

No matter how prices might fluctuate in the marketplace, comfort can be derived from being able to produce food at one’s own home.

Where salaries are too low, people with thriving gardens can say “no, thank you”.

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“Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you no longer own him.”

J. Di Chiarro

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9. COMMUNITY-BASED NUTRITION SECURITY

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Maybe hunger persists not because the powerful don’t know how to fix it, but because they don’t care enough about it.

Maybe looking to the rich and powerful for solutions to the hunger problem has been a mistake.

Maybe the poor should instead detach from the rich wherever they can, and create their own strong communities.

Maybe these communities could then become sanctuaries, places to which those subjugated by the powerful can escape.

SELF-SUFFICIENCY OR SELF-RELIANCE?

While localizing food production might have advantages, it is more important to localize and democratize decision-making.

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Autonomy Trade when beneficial Local control Self-rule Food Sovereignty Swaraj

Autarky Minimum trade Local

production to meet local needs

Economic isolation

Swadeshi

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SELF-SUFFICIENCY

SELF-RELIANCE

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The major objective should be self-reliance, not self-sufficiency.

Importing and exporting food is fine so long as local people have made a fair and informed judgment about what serves their interests.

THE NEED FOR COMMUNITY

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Malnutrition occurs in a social context. The extent to which people suffer from hunger and other forms of malnutrition depends on how they treat one another.

PETER KROPOTKIN, MUTUAL AID, 1902

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. . . in the ethical progress of man, mutual support not mutual struggle—has had the leading part.

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In strong communities, in which people care for one another’s well being, people don’t go hungry.

KARL POLANYI, THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION, 1944

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“. . . as a rule, the individual in primitive society is not threatened by starvation unless the community as a whole is in a like predicament. Under the kraal-land system of the Kaffirs, for instance, "destitution is impossible: whosoever needs assistance receives it unquestioningly. No Kwakiutl ever ran the least risk of going hungry.”

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People living in strong communities do not exploit one another. They do not steal from each other’s gardens. They talk with each other about their concerns. They care for each other.

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That more people do not slip into poverty is no small wonder. The view held here is that we have our communities to thank. The strength of such communities can be found among family members, helpful neighbors, church groups, and among understanding colleagues and superiors in the workplace.

When a community functions well, it is because of the active solidarity among its members. People look out for each other, help each other . . . When individuals slip into poverty it is not simply because they have run out of money - it is also because their community has failed. For poverty to be effectively addressed, it must be addressed at the local level, at the community level.

Tibor Dessewfy and Ferenc Hammer, Poverty in Hungary.

http://www.hrea.org/erc/Library/Critical_Choices/poverty.html

Deficiencies in money land, water, fertilizer, skills etc. matter, but for ending hunger, maybe the most important is the deficiency of caring.

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES

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The Hunger Project Millennium Villages Intentional Communities MLK’s Beloved Community Community Gardens Community Supported Agriculture Worker Cooperatives (Mondragon) Entrepreneurial Programs (Micro Finance, India’s Dairy Cooperatives)

10. NUTRITION POLICY COUNCILS

Nutrition Policy Councils brings together stakeholders from diverse food-related areas to examine how the food system is working and propose ways to improve it.

An NPC may be a governmental advisory body on nutrition issues, or it may be a grassroots network, a non-governmental organization.

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The overall objective of these councils should be to ensure good nutrition for all, under all conditions.

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12. MULTI-LEVEL STRATEGIC PLANNING

There is a need not for top-down planning or bottom-up planning, but joint planning. The rich and the poor should work together in planning to end hunger in the world.

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SUBSIDIARITY

Nutrition policy at every level should be guided by the principle of subsidiarity, “the principle that each social and political group should help smaller or more local ones accomplish their respective ends without, however, arrogating those tasks to itself.”

Nothing should be done at a higher level that can be done as well or better at a lower level. 49

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Given decent opportunities, few people would allow themselves, their families, or their neighbors to become seriously malnourished.

There is a need to ensure that everyone has those opportunities.

We can’t make hunger end. The task is to surround people with opportunities, and let it end.

THE CELLULAR APPROACH

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If we find a way to ensure the health of every cell and every organ of the global body, based on how they are managed from within and also from the outside, we will have solved the hunger problem.

THANK YOU.

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