Hunger

Hunger

   After the post on vitamins and nutrition, it only seemed logical to follow with the related subject of yet another field that we assume is no longer a problem, that of hunger.  Yes, it still persists in much of the world, this despite massive agriculture advances in both the growing of crops and their subsequent distribution; today's farmers produce nearly 3,000 calories worth of crops, per person.  But for over 800 million people, none of that matters.  For while world hunger has indeed dropped some 40% in the past 20 years, that many people, those 800 million, are still going hungry and often still suffering from malnutrition.

   Some of this came to mind when I recently read about the United Nations accusing the Australian government of bribing smugglers mid-ocean, to turn their boatloads of refugees around and head back, in this case, to Indonesia.  The Sydney Morning Herald said in an editorial: Indonesian authorities are investigating the claims from the passengers on the boat and an Indonesian police chief that Australian Customs officers paid $5000 to each of six crew members on a boat full of asylum seekers...The Herald accepts the turn back the boats policy has worked, but only in concert with offshore detention and, above all, at a high cost when it comes to humanity and reputation.
Paying people smugglers would raise additional legal questions and could encourage more boats to set sail and place people at risk.  In Europe, already nearly 1,800 have died just trying to reach safer shores (this out of a estimated total of over 150,000 refugees that have safely made the journey this year alone...over 600,000 asylum applications have been received by the European Union to date).  One might be tempted to lump all of this drive to escape one country for another as simply a political one; but suppose the issue becomes one of hunger as well?

   Part of the problem of hunger is related to water and access to it.  You've likely read the data: nearly 1,200 gallons of water needed to produce a gallon of milk (from cattle, much less so from goats), 16 gallons to produce a single ounce of rice, pasta, wheat bread or chicken, or 800 gallons of water to produce a half pound of steak.  Many countries or areas of those countries simply don't have enough water to grow enough crops (or animals) to sustain themselves.  And some areas that depend on annual water, such as monsoons, are crippled when changing climate affects their scheduled arrival.  This has already happened in Bolivia where changing climate patterns have disrupted the lives of the nearly two-thirds of the population dependent on growing their own crops;  the result has been stunted growth for 25% of the children under five years of age.  According to National Geographic, India leads the world with over 190 million people undernourished; Haiti has over 50% of its entire population undernourished.  In Tajikistan (located next to Uzbekistan), the people spend 80% of their income on food alone (an interesting graph of what countries, including the U.S., spends on food was published recently by Washington State University).

   One possible solution, of all things, might be something that is seemingly everywhere around us, and even more so (it seems) in some rural area...flies.  I had written about the surge in eating bugs for protein in an earlier post, but a recent piece by Bernhard Warner in Inc. brought the subject to a new level, this time on (of all things) soldier flies.  Glen Courtright's company, EnviroFlight, produces bins of live flies every ten days, all of which can be cooked and converted to feed for fish or livestock.  Much of the traditional livestock feed produced by the $370 billion global industry is composed of crops such as corn and soybeans, which are expensive and compete for resources with human food.  Livestock feed accounts for 60 percent to 70 percent of food production costs. Even fishmeal, a fish-based ingredient used for farmed fish, pigs, and chickens, can be costly.  In the past 10 years, the price has increased by 200 percent, according to World Bank data.  "It takes three tons of fishmeal to raise one ton of fish," says Paul Jones, who scouts for agriculture innovations at Mars, a $35 billion food company that is also the world's largest manufacturer of pet food.  "The economics don't make sense long term."  Replacing this feed with one made from insects would be cheaper and more sustainable.  "Even if we were to get 100,000 tons of additional fish food supply from insects" (or less than 1 percent of global demand), says Jones, "that would be a fantastic thing."

   Yes, there is protein and calories that need to be met, and grown, and harvested, and distributed.  There is weather, and income inequality, and political disruption (think of how many humanitarian aid trucks loaded with food and water are turned away or destroyed in war-torn countries).  But another, perhaps equally compelling factor is being lost as the world goes hungry...the simple happiness of eating together.  This was the cover story in a recent issue of National Geographic titled The Joy of Food by Victoria Pope., the article asking, "What is it about eating that brings us closer together?"  It goes on to say, "Food is more than survival.  With it we make friends, court lovers, and count our blessings."

   But for 800 million people, counting blessings might be a bit more difficult when wondering if or when things will change.  Will you once again go to bed hungry, or feel a bit sicker or weaker or defeated?  It is easy to lose sight of the suffering in other parts of the world, and to lose sight of what we might be losing in companionship and good will.  Solving the problem might not be as easy as just producing more...but many people and companies are trying, and it's a nice beginning, perhaps a necessary one.  As the article mentions, in a quote by M.F.K Fisher, "With good friends...and good food on the board...we may well ask, When shall we live if not now?"