Global and National Hunger Can Be Described

Global and National Hunger

Hunger can be described as a physical sensation of desiring food. Usually even the highly privileged may experience mild hunger, however brief experience will never be harmful. People suffering from hunger are a larger scale reference to individuals who are unable to eat sufficient food in meeting their basic nutritional needs for a sustained period of time. A large proportion of the world's populations are affected by hunger throughout history. Occasionally it result originates from plagues, war or adverse weather changes.

Several inter-related issues that cause hunger tend to be related to economic as well as other factors that cause poverty. A part from the named above causes of hunger we have drought, famine, diversification of land use to non-productive use, poor eating habit, inefficient agriculture, land right and ownership as other causes of hunger, (Anup Shah, 2010). As we try to solve the problem of hunger through efficient food production, a problem arises in terms of landownership, land distribution, inefficient use of land, politics as well as power play. Rate of food production recently is considered to be higher as compared to the population growth; however this does not seem to be the solution. Approaching hunger in a more direct way through offering more charitable contributions of food, or sourcing how to raise production rates, tend to just attack symptom of hunger and poverty but not the real root causes.

It is not that we should stop the research to increase food production; it should be known that the deeper problem of fighting the poverty roots that brings hunger would give opportunity for better uses of resources at the end. The fight should be directed to both poverty and hunger because if people will concentrate on only fighting poverty then the resources will be continually diverted to fighting hunger but not to fight what causes it. Of course, solving hunger in the world by just increasing food production but not tackling it from its roots may as well give us a positive outcome to the issue of poverty. In case the poorer nations will continue never to be provided with sufficient policy space as well, as means of producing their own food, or given space of producing and creating industry for themselves, there will be still a continued dependency and poverty.

A positive outcome can as well be realized if the eating habit can change around the World especially in American. Increase in calories tends to be sufficient for providing each person around the world with sufficient food to live. Of course if the world is able to provide what is sufficient to every life that is living in it, therefore what are the reasons that make a majority to go hungry? My answer will be the unjust distribution system and not that it is lack of resources.

It becomes very possible to lower the rate of hunger if people will learn ways of living in harmony with nature. However, lack will be experienced when some try to impose their will on the fair and natural distribution of nature's resources as per the individual's needs. It is evidenced that the natural distribution of the earth's resources is usually disrupted by those who control much of the food as well as water resources for personal gain.

If people are to copy the eating habit of the American, then the food that is supplied currently will be able to accommodate just only 2.5 billion people or approximately half of the world population. But if we are to eat subsistence diet, getting the needed calories, then the recent annual food production will be able to feed 6 billion people. For example, consuming 5,000 daily calories while my neighbor do not have any, will make me lower my intake to about 2,500 daily calories which go with the normal needed 2,000 so that those who are not able to get can as well find the opportunity of getting. This is from the fact that America is a heavy consumer economy coupled with very poor food conservation habit leading to high food demand and high food wastage across the country.

When we are to follow this above criteria and eat less, then we will be able to substantially reduce global hunger, and this will be on top of improving the health of American people who have continued to fight obesity and its medical consequences as a national epidemic. Daniel Chiras through his book title "Environment Science" takes the same view that if U.S. beef consumption can be reduced by 10% only, then will be able to release enough grain that can feed 60 million people in the less-developed nations, (Miguel De La Torre, 2012). In the same line, those who have chosen to waste our natural resources can still make a turn and listen to the cry of the hungry by stopping food wastage. In other word eat all that you can procure.

Using the report recently produced by the Natural Resource Defense Council, it indicated that 40% of the entire U.S. food is wasted, which is approximately $165 billion a year, and they usually end up in landfills, that have impact in degradation of our water resources hence result in greenhouse gas emissions. About 40% the food wastage totals to approximately 20 pounds of food per citizen of America per month, which is about $1,350 to $2,275 annually that a family of four wastes through food mishandling. Based on the reports, if we reduce 15% only, then a population of 25 million Americans will be fed every year, (World Hunger Education Service, 2011).