world hunger

World Hunger: How to put a stop to it How can we, as a society, put an end to world hunger? This question has gone around for many years now and no one has found the correct answer to it. People know that when they see a picture of a child with a blown up stomach, they automatically get emotional and want to help, but how can they? World hunger is a serious problem in this world and in many countries; it has increased tremendously over the several years. We, the people, need to find a way to help end it once and for all. All we need is just a little push of determination to keep us going. Hunger is a term which has three meanings according to the Oxford English Dictionary (1971) “1.The uneasy or painful sensation caused by want of food; craving appetite. Also the exhausted conditions caused by want of food 2.The want or scarcity of food in a country 3.A strong desire or craving.” In most cases, hunger is defined by the second definition. World hunger in countries is a big issue that needs to be taken care of before it gets worse. Hunger exists because the national, state, and local government leaders have not made eliminating it a priority. They only way to end it completely is with the help from the government. Without them, there is no other hope for saving the countries that are suffering from it. With the right type of strategies, we can put an end to world hunger once and for all. The main problem here is that people in the United States are always talking about the ways we should be helping, but nothing ever gets done. We end up in the same spot we started. There have been many conferences, investments, meetings, etc. that have been formed to try to stop world hunger. These meetings have never worked out because talking about it and doing it are two completely different things. Instead of talking about the ways world hunger should stop, society needs to just go and jump in. We need to start helping as soon as possible. The quicker we start, the quicker it will end. The very first thing that should be done is the president needs to set up a plan. He needs to set up goals and ideas that need to be achieved. He’s the one that can ask everyone to help out and to have their support on it. Once he notifies everyone, then it’s up to the people to help stop the hunger and keep it going. He should also establish an office within the administration to coordinate national, state, and local anti-hunger efforts. Employment is another main idea for this. Low-wage jobs have to pay enough so that no full-time worker is living in poverty with his/her family. Families should not have to suffer from this, especially small children that need the most guidance. In the event of job loss, health problems, or other contingencies that could lead to poverty, all Americans should be able to rely on a safety net of nutrition and anti-poverty programs that prevent them from going hungry and provide access to nutritious food (Todd Post). World hunger is also expensive for the country to pay off. In 2011, a team of economists from Brandeis University calculated the direct and indirect costs of hunger in the United States and they estimated the total cost to the country that year to be $167.5 billion. People wonder if they can pay off the financial cost of the hunger. There were several goals that were set up in the past and they were achieved by having everyone agree and participate to help. If those can be achieved, then we can achieve this goal and it can finally end. Other ways to stop world hunger is to reduce wastage of good food, increase productivity, and free access across developing country borders to help reduce the produce supply. Traditional development approaches often focus on individual issues or stages of production such as plant research, farmer associations, farming techniques, rural development, micro-finance and community processing. Solving a food challenge, a new approach is required because successful food exporting depends on value chain stage and support service activities being closely arranged. A food processor with a contract to deliver a range of chilled, packaged produce and juices to a hotel or exporter relies on farmers harvesting the right varieties at an agreed time, on collectors not damaging the produce in transport, on timely and accurate laboratory tests to meet buyer requirements and on financing to pay suppliers of produce and packaging (Ian Sayers). Farmers need to know what markets and uses their produce or animals will be designed for before planting or growing as the essentials are often very different. For example, fruits for slicing or juicing need to be harvested early so that cutting and pressing do not lead to bruising and fermentation. Customers from different regions have different tastes and seasonal windows for delivery are very specific. The smallest lack of attention at any stage can lead to a season’s crop gone to waste. “The most important thing to understand is that solving the food challenge is not just the responsibility of farmers and producers. It is down to each of us, how we eat and what signals we send via consumer habits.” Julian Cribb states that it is up to every one of us to keep track of the food we eat and how we eat it. In areas where agriculture is still going on, we waste nutrients all along the food chain. Up to half the food in the developed world is thrown away, while half the food in the developing world is lost post-harvest. We need to cut down on all of that and stop it from happening. Food is always being thrown away. We need to stop wasting food and start ending world hunger. Our cities pollute rivers and seas by pouring waste nutrients into them, creating dead zones that destroy fisheries and aquatic food webs. Up to half the world's fisheries have collapsed, throwing heavier demand for protein onto land-based systems. Coral reef ecosystems, which support 500 million people, are in serious trouble due to ocean acidification and climate change. All these waste products are caused by all of us. The more waste products that get thrown away, the worse it will be for millions of people in this world. Worldwide, many governments have reduced investment in agricultural and food research. This is the cause in the failure of today's food system to keep pace with increasing demand. The concentration of market power by giant corporations and supermarkets has made most agriculture unsuccessful worldwide, making investment in more productive and supportable technologies. Large cities of 20 to 40 million people are emerging in some areas without the ability to produce any food. This results in them being in extreme risk in the delivery of their food supplies. Climate change is also a big cause as well. It causes world food production to decline by 25 percent. United Kingdom predictions suggest up to 40 percent of the Earth may face regular drought by the end of the 21st century, as well as harsher floods, fires and cyclones. We need to make the world diet to one that is both lighter and healthier; this would be more diverse and contain about 50 percent more vegetable foods in our diet. Creating urban agricultural systems, large and small, to meet at least part of the food needs of the great cities is also an idea. We need to increase global investment in agricultural science and technology to develop ecofarming systems that use less energy, water, land and other resources. All these things are possible to achieve if everyone sticks together and helps out as best as they can. Another solution to ending this problem is to elect officials who are willing to spend money to help out those who need it instead of on military forces. Saving our country from bad people is good, but saving our country from people starving to death is even better. All that money can help save more than millions of people. If our country didn’t waste money on things that we didn’t even need, then we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place. If they wanted to help out so bad, then half of the money they give out for military forces can be used for helping people who need it as much as the military needs it. Out of all these things, the simplest and easy thing to do is to donate to people around the world. Simple donations to a fundraiser or an organization can help out many people who are suffering from hunger. Cutting down on some of the stuff we buy can help as well. There are over a hundred of things that most people buy, but they don’t need. All that money that people waste can go to a better cause. Instead of buying a small chocolate bar, that money can go to someone who actually needs it. That money can buy a person bread to eat for dinner. People talk about how they never have any money to spare, but yet they buy ipads, iPhones, and a silly game that they don’t need. People waste food, are greedy with money that they could easily give, and spend money on items they don’t need. All that money they waste can go to a whole family that needs it. It can help them buy a complete meal, a new pair of shoes, or even some new clothing. It’s better to say, “I helped a family out” instead of “I bought a new phone.” People should stop being greedy and should start saving this country from world hunger. World hunger will always exist if people don’t open their eyes and start looking at the things around them. World hunger has been around for over hundreds of years and yet, no one has been able to stop it. No one has been able to find an answer for it. People talk about saving countries from world hunger, but no one has the time to stop and actually do something about it. Saying something and actually doing it are two different things. People love to hear themselves say what they want to say, but for some reason they wouldn’t like to see them doing something for someone else for a change. If people follow these steps and try to help out for a change, then world hunger doesn’t have to be as big of a problem in the next decade.