World Hunger
CGW-4U
Hunger Scenario
 Remember a time when you have been hungry
 Missed a meal, Delayed dinner or sick and unable to eat
 Symptoms:
 felt the gnawing pain of hunger
 being tired or cranky as your body adapted to the lack of
energy
 Feel this feeling now
Hunger Scenario
 Situation:
 Imagine you are unable to get food and this feeling continues
for the whole day
 Symptoms:
 How has your feeling of hunger changed?
How has it impacted your body?
 How has it impacted your mind?
 How has it impacted your emotions?

 Imagine the consequences of a day without food
Hunger Scenario
 Situation: Its been 1 week
 You have eaten a small amount of food and water
 You have lost weight
 Symptoms:
 Imagine what the hunger feels like now
How is your ability to perform simple tasks?
 How much energy do you have?

 Imagine the consequences of 1 week without food
Hunger Scenario
 Situation: Its been 1 year …. Or a lifetime
 Without adequate food or water
 Any thoughts, feelings, or consequences of hunger
that you mentally visualized?
Global Hunger
 Approximately 925
million people do not
receive adequate daily
food supplies
 One in twelve people
worldwide is
malnourished
 15,000 children die each
day from diseases related
to lack of food
 During this class 478
people will die of
starvation
Definitions
1.
Chronic Persistent Hunger:
Long-term and consistent conditions of poor nutrition. Has
little to do with food shortages
 Undernutrition:
Caused by not getting enough food to eat – poor food
availability
 Malnutrition:
Caused by poorly balanced diet – not receiving enough
nutrients
2. Famine:
rapid and severe under nutrition – food shortages occur due to
natural conditions. 1/10th of hunger related deaths
Did you eat breakfast
today?
A. Yes
B. No
There is simply not enough food
produced to feed everyone...
A. True
B. False
Overpopulation is the direct
cause of world hunger....
A. True
B. False
A. True
B. False
Poverty, corrupt economic systems and
armed conflict are the major causes of world
hunger....
Increasing agricultural land
use will solve the crisis....
A. True
B. False
A. True
B. False
Free trade and free markets will decrease the
cost of food and increase global food
sharing...
A. True
B. False
Developed countries could alleviate world
hunger by providing food aid to suffering
countries
Perceptions on Global Hunger
There is simply not enough food produced to feed
everyone
1.

Incorrect: Current enough food to provide a 3200 calorie
diet for every person each day. Global food production is not
the cause of global hunger
2. Overpopulation is the direct cause of world hunger

Incorrect: there is no correlation between population density
and hunger. Often significant food resources per capita
coexist with hunger
Perceptions on Global Hunger
Increasing agricultural land use will solve the crisis
3.

Incorrect: Small scale farming using land more efficiently and
produce larger yields compared to commercial farming
Free trade and free markets will decrease the cost of
food and increase global food sharing
4.

Incorrect: large corporations produce food at lower costs and
benefits from free trade agreements.
Developed countries could alleviate world hunger by
providing food aid to suffering countries
5.

Incorrect: cannot provide long-term sustainable support by
providing aid. Instead, local food economies are impacted.
Causes of World Hunger
Poverty
1.

Lack of resources and unequal distribution of wealth (land, tools or
money)
Corrupt Economic Systems
2.

Control over resources and income is based on military, political and
economic power
Conflict Surrounding Cause/Importance of Hunger
3.

Receives less media attention and little accountability
Armed Conflict
4.

War disrupts agricultural production, and governments often spend
more on arms than on social programs
World Hunger and the Economy
 The Global Food System




based on large scale commercialization.
domination by large transnational corporations
control trade and pricing of food commodities
Increasing emphasis on growing cash-crops for export
 Developing Countries


Are economically dependent on single commodities
Commodity and food prices have not risen significantly while the
cost of input has risen dramatically.
Poverty and World Hunger
Shortened
Life Expectancy
Poverty
Malnutrition
High Death Rate
Low Disease
for Children
Resistance
Decreased
Ability to
Work
Decreased
Energy
Decreased
Ability to
Learn
Effects of World Hunger
High Infant Mortality Rates
1.


Malnourished women are more likely to be sick, have smaller
babies, and die earlier
Where infant and child mortality is high, birth rates are also
high
2. Vulnerability to Common Illnesses

A malnourished child often lacks the strength to survive any
common illness
3. Increased Risk of Infection

Weakened immune systems and inability to fight off
recurrent and lingering infections
Effects of World Hunger
4. Impediments to Physical Development

Deprived essential proteins, micronutrients and fatty acids
they need to grow adequately – stunted growth, poor brain
development
5. Impediments to Economic Growth

Impacts educational levels, social services and industrial
development
6. Acute Vulnerability during Disasters

Lack of supplies, resources, planning causes almost
immediate death
Considered Solutions
Creating More Cropland
1.



Urbanization
Soil degradation
Consider productivity of land
2. Using More Fertilizer

Ground water contamination

Cost

Lack of effectiveness
Considered Solutions
3. Using More Pesticides

Costs

Harm humans

Pest become immune
4. Genetically Modified Foods

Seed control

Additional costs

Fewer jobs

Human and environment threats