group also represents a sizeable share of the total population under FNS risks and of total domestic food supply in many developing countries.
These are some of the reasons why agricultural sector in most of the developing countries holds many of the keys to national FNS. This is generally true, despite the fact that the sector is highly differentiated and that heightened risks, uncertainties and new barriers to FNS keep appearing (Conway, 2012). The risks can be classified into two components (Karlan and Appel, 2011). First, there are environmental risks that all farmers encounter such as drought, insect attacks, floods and others. Second, there are risks stemming from limited information, lack of access to profitable markets, and volatility in commodity prices. In this regard, risks and uncertainties should also be considered as FNS indicators. The characteristics of risks are clearly explained by (Stirling, 1998; Stirling, 2007) in terms of probability or likelihood of events and
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Nevertheless, it is argued that food aid as alternative strategy of food supply has some drawbacks and minimal impact on development: food aid is generally subject to high cost of procurement (including high storage, transport and distribution costs) and poor targeting (Jayne et al., 2001, Francken et al., 2012). More importantly, food aid might become a source of food insecurity as it may create disincentives for domestic production through the low price competitiveness of domestic food commodities, leading to unfavorable public and private investment (Del Ninno et al., 2007). For all the reasons mentioned in this paragraph, macro indicators of trade openness, price transmission mechanisms, demographic change, political stability, climate variability are also pertinent as indicators of macro-level FNS
After volunteering three times with the social action committee and high school group from Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church in the previous years, the Houston Food Bank became very familiar both in regards of their history and how their volunteerism works. The Houston Food Bank is a non-profit organization that seeks donations of non-perishable food items to serve the low-income families in eighteen counties across Texas. However, during a recent trip to the food bank with the University of Houston-Downtown College of Business, the interactions with a larger group of classmates became more dynamic. Three main topics involving group work at the Houston Food Bank are service learning, community service, and volunteerism. Service learning
The Guelph Food Bank, is an essential organization in Guelph. The purpose of the food bank is to provide food to the less fortunate. With an unpredictable economy, many people are living paycheque to paycheque, trying to survive on little income. Due to the high costs of rent, not all people are able to purchase groceries and rely on the food bank to provide them with the essentials. The Guelph food bank also serves people who are unemployed as well as people who are living with illnesses. Welfare cheques simply do not provide enough to cover all the expenses that an average person has to deal with. Therefore, the Guelph foodbank’s mission is to not only provide food to the unemployed but to also help people who do not have enough money to purchase food. It not only wants to help people short term, but its goal to help people in the long term by helping them become independent of organizations.
According to the “Hunger and Poverty Fact Sheet” on Feeding America’s website, in 2014 there were over 48 million Americans living in food insecure households, which included 32 million adults and 15 million children. For over 35 years, Feeding America continues to be in the forefront in solving this crisis by providing food to people in need through a nationwide network of food banks. In the late 1960s, Van Hengel established the nation’s first food bank and years later established the first national organization of food banks, Second Harvest. Second Harvest was later called America’s Second Harvest the Nation’s Food Bank Network and in 2008, the national organization changed its name to Feeding America.
- Fresh Foods For Families Initiative that provides free fruits, vegetables and other fresh foods to an average of 4,489 low-income families on a monthly basis ("Our Solutions," 2015).
In response to the recent failure of the international community to prevent the famine crisis in the Horn of Africa since July 2011, Suzanne Dvorak the chief executive of Save the Children wrote that, “We need to provide help now. But we cannot forget that these children are wasting away in a disaster that we could - and should - have prevented” she added, “The UN estimates that every $1 spent in prevention saves $7 in emergency spending.” (Dvorak, 2011).
With the increases in the global population and the increase need to feed this population, comes the great debate in how governments of the developed and developing world must tackle this important issue. In his article, The Politics of Hunger: How Illusion and Greed Fan the Food Crisis, Paul Collier examines the root causes of the food crisis and three ways (the slaying of giants) governments can easily come in finding a solution in the near-term, middle-term and long-term. The root causes, as outlined by Mr. Collier, are the increasing demand for food and increases in food prices. First, Collier states, “the first giant that must be slain is the middle to upper-class love affair with peasant agriculture.” In other words, increasing commercial agriculture and farming. Second, Collier states that the lifting of the genetically modified foods (GM crops) ban by Europe and Africa will allow a decrease in global food prices. Lastly, he states the United States must lift the subsidies on corn produced for biofuel and find an alternate biofuel source (like Brazilian sugar cane), thus decreasing the price on corn produced for food while increasing overall grain production.
There are many problems confronting our global food system. One of them is that the food is not distributed fairly or evenly in the world. According “The Last Bite Is The World’s Food System Collapsing?” by Bee Wilson, “we are producing more food—more grain, more meat, more fruits and vegetables—than ever before, more cheaply than ever before” (Wilson, 2008). Here we are, producing more and more affordable food. However, the World Bank recently announced that thirty-three countries are still famine and hungers as the food price are climbing. Wilson stated, “despite the current food crisis, last year’s worldwide grain harvest was colossal, five per cent above the previous year’s” (Wilson, 2008). This statement support that the food is not distributed evenly. The food production actually increased but people are still in hunger and malnutrition. If the food were evenly distributed, this famine problem would’ve been not a problem. Wilson added, “the food economy has created a system in w...
The Uneven Distribution of Food Supplies in the More Developed Countries and Less Developed Countries
In this world there are many different types of challenges faced but individuals in different countries, as people work together to find a way to stop or solve these challenges there are also some challenges or situations that individuals, even as a group, cannot eliminate. The race to reach conclusions of situations is very desirable and is being worked on very efficiently, but one issue that people have mistaken into accomplishing is hunger. Hungry is present everywhere and not a lot of people can satisfy or fulfil that need. Lack of sanitation, unemployment, and unhealthy diet choices these are involved in an imaginary line called the poverty line. The idea of food banks is a good start into eliminating hungry but the process still has a
In conclusion, fighting food insecurity and poor nutrition among low income families, particularly in developing countries, is a complex task. It requires many different strategies as there are many factors influencing hunger and why it occurs. The three strategies chosen are effective on their own, but implemented together will address many more of the determinants causing this issue. The World Food Programmes strategy is a quick fix when solving this problem and is not sustainable, but alongside Oxfam and MicroLoans strategies, they would all make an extremely positive change in how food insecurity looks today.
Kundu A. 2006. Food security system in India: analysing a few conceptual issues in the contemporary policy debate. New Delphi: World Food Programme.
Sayers, Ian. "New Approaches to Feeding the World's Population." International Trade Forum. July-Sept. 2011: 30. Global Issues In Context. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.
Without access to outside food the population in poorer countries drops and is “checked” by crop failures and famines. But access to outside food could be a problem because “if they can always draw on a world food bank in time of need, their populations can continue to grow unchecked, and so will their “need” for aid”(333). Poorer countries’ populations could surpass richer countries, then poorer countries will receive even more resources and give basically nothing, while the rich receive even less but give
However, South Africa is not rich in agricultural resources; rather it has low rainfall, impoverishment and greater susceptibility of vegetation to drought, resulting in soil degradation. Soil degradation is also caused by excessive fuel wood collection, inappropriate land use, population density and overgrazing. Rural areas lack good roads and bridges, small-scale irrigation systems, post-harvest storage facilities, processing and market facilities, clinics, electricity and telecommunication facilities, and also have poor financial markets. As a result, the poor find it difficult to cope with risks of various sorts and cannot afford to purchase important inputs such as fertilizer, chemicals and farm machinery. Globalization There is an increased competition for South Africa’s agricultural products both on export markets and locally.
Even thou there is enough food to eat, but most people cannot afford because of poverty. Scientific research proves that every person needs roughly over 2000 calories in their body a day to obtain a normal healthy body (healthy eating). Individual affected by hunger and poverty suffers normal body function, physically or mentally which harm their abilities in their future. According to the recent Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) statistic, "most of the world 's hungry people live in developing nations. Hunger is approximately distributed among people as follows:578 million people in Asia and the Pacific, 239 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa,53 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean,37 million men and women in the Near East and North Africa. That compared to 19 million people in developed countries." Almost 50 to 75 percent of hunger in most African countries by the war that destroys most of the country 's natural resources; Somalia and D.R Congo are examples of