"Poverty, underdevelopment and the resulting hunger are often the outcome of selfish attitudes which, arising from man's heart, find expression in his social activities, in economic relations and in the conditions of the market, ... and are translated into the denial of the primary right of all individuals to nourishment and freedom from hunger. How can we remain silent before the fact that food has become the object of speculation and is tied to the movements of financial markets which, lacking clear rules and moral principles seem fixated on the single objective of profit? Nourishment is a factor which touches on the fundamental right to life."
The quote is taken from Pope Benedict's address to the participants in thirty-seventh Conference of the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) when he met them on July 1st.
The Pope's speech tackled the horrible human tragedy of hunger which during 2010 affected 925 million people. (I am using statistics and a number of ideas provided by Hunger Notes http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm.)
Asia and the Pacific region are the worst hit, so much so that 578 million suffered hunger last year. The next area of disaster is Sub Saharan Africa with the infamous statistic of 239 million. These figure explain the massive exodus of so many people some of whom end up on our shores. Latin America and the Caribbean claim 53 million while there are 37 people suffering from hunger in the Near East and North Africa. Hunger is not limited to underdeveloped countries. There are 19 million hungry people in developed countries.
On the one hand such statistics can point to us the gravity of the problem: one in every seven people suffer from hunger! However, on the other hand, statistics do tend to depersonalise the problem.
Hunger is not about numbers but it is about people. Real people made up of muscle tissue, bones and blood like you and me. Hunger is about real people who have real children, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. When we discuss hunger we have to look people in the eyes, not numbers.
This is why the Pope referred to the situation as one which makes people suffer, especially "the situation of millions of children, who are the first victims of this tragedy, condemned to early death or to a delay in their physical and mental development. ..." Children who are poorly nourished suffer up to 160 days of illness each year. Every year five million children die of malnutrition. Every hour 573 children die of hunger! This statistic just skims the surface. Hunger, in turn causes other diseases or debilitates children so much that they become prone to other diseases and die because of them. Diarrhoea, malaria, pneumonia and measles are among the additional killers.
The most shocking scandal is that all this suffering is preventable. HUNGER IS AVOIDABLE. It is not true that there are hungry people because the world cannot produce enough food to feed its inhabitants.
Hunger Notes makes this point strongly and clearly.
"The world produces enough food to feed everyone. World agriculture produces 17 per cent more calories per person today than it did 30 years ago, despite a 70 per cent population increase. This is enough to provide everyone in the world with at least 2,720 kilocalories (kcal) per person per day (FAO 2002, p.9). The principal problem is that many people in the world do not have sufficient land to grow, or income to purchase, enough food. "
If you read again the introductory paragraph of this piece you will notice that the Pope refers to some of the structural causes of hunger:
selfish attitudes which are then structured in social activities, in economic relations and in the conditions of the market, food has become the object of speculation and is tied to the movements of financial markets fixated on the single objective of profit
In other parts of his speech he addresses other structural causes of world hunger:
The international situation and recurrent concerns caused by instability and price increases;The structures of FAO hinder the organisation from achieving the goal to guarantee nutritional development, the availability of food products and the development of rural areas, so as to ensure that humankind is free from hunger; the abandonment of rural areas and agricultural work;The lack of support given to family-run farms, supporting the vital role they play in ensuring stable food security.
Hunger Notes adds other reasons: poverty, harmful economic systems, conflict and climate change.
The solution for this tragedy in not massive family planning programmes (although there is a place for programmes advocating responsible parenthood) or forced abortions. The solution lies in more just economic, social and political structures.
One can say that we can do very little about these structural causes of hunger. The answer is both yes and no. However, we can do our bit (small bit but valid just the same) to prevent climate change, avoid waste, control consumption, save up on energy and give our modest financial contribution to help initiatives which work towards a more just and fairer world.