Hunger And The Global
Environment
Chapter 20
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Copyright 2005 Wadsworth Group, a division of Thomson Learning
Imagine:
• You often go hungry.
• Your children say they’re hungry but you
know there’s not enough food in the
house.
• Your children go to bed hungry and dream
of food.
• You frequently skip meals because you
lack food, money transportation and
kitchen appliances.
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Hunger Facts:
• 1 in every 5 people worldwide
experiences persistent hunger.
• One person dies of starvation every
2 seconds.
• In the U.S.: 36 million people; 1 out
of every 5 children, lives in poverty
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Food insecurity: The limited or
uncertain availability of
nutritionally adequate and safe
foods
Food poverty: Hunger occurring
when there is enough food in an
area but cannot be obtained due to
a lack of money, deprivation, war or
other problems
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Hunger In The
United States
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Copyright 2005 Wadsworth Group, a division of Thomson Learning
Feeding the
hungry—in
the United
States.
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Food Assistance
• 1 out of every 6 Americans
receives food assistance of
some kind.
• Total cost: $40 billion/ year
• Still, the hunger problem is not
solved.
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Federal Food Assistance
Programs
1. WIC (Women Infants and
Children)
2. The School Lunch Program;
Breakfast and Childcare
3. Food Assistance for Older Adults;
Meals on Wheels
4. The Food Stamp Program
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
National Food Recovery
Programs
• Second Harvest: coordinates food
pantries and emergency kitchens.
• Local food banks
• Community efforts:
– Depend on volunteers
– Serve the homeless, people in need,
etc.
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Note: Areas with stripes of color have
multiple causes of hunger.
Hunger Hotspots
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Food Waste
• 96 billion pounds of food waste
in the U.S/year
• 27% of the food produced is
wasted
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Worldwide Food
Shortages
Famine: Extreme food shortage
in an area that causes
widespread starvation and
death.
Causes-
1. Political reasons
2. Armed conflict (war)
3. Natural Disasters
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Global Malnutrition
• Approximately 2 billion people
are malnourished
• Mostly lacking in iron,
iodine, Vitamin A and
protein/ calorie
malnutrition
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
In-text Figure
Page 699
International efforts help to relieve hunger and
poverty in Afghanistan and around the world.
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Overpopulation
• 6 billion (estimated) people
live on Earth
• 90 million people are born each
year
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Billion
World Population Growth
Mid-decade totals and projections
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Years needed for the
world’s population to
reach its:
1st Billion
2nd Billion
3rd Billion
4th Billion
5th Billion
6th Billion
2,000,000 years
105 years
30 years
15 years
12 years
11 years
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Questions:
Why is it that malnutrition is
such a worldwide problem
when we have an ample food
supply?
What will happen in the future?
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
The Cycle… The Problem?
• Population growth leads to
hunger and poverty.
• Hunger and poverty lead to
population growth.
How can we stop this cycle?
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Poverty, Overpopulation, and Environmental
Degradation
Population
growth—
children
needed
to gather
resources
Environmental
degradation—
resources dwindle
as the number of
people needing
food grows
Poverty
Hunger
The interactions of poverty, overpopulation, and
environmental degradation worsen hunger.
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Environmental Limitations
• Soil erosion, compaction and salinization
• Deforestation and desertification due to
overgrazing
• Climate changes due to forest destruction
• Water pollution
• Extensive overgrazing
• Overfishing
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
In-text Figure
Page 702
Without water, croplands become deserts.
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
In-text Figure
Page 708
Progress toward Sustainable Food Production
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Solutions?…
1. Increase economic growth:
sustainable development
2. Slow population growth:
decrease the number of
children in families
3. Make changes at home…
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Locally grown
foods offer
benefits to both
the local
economy and
the global
environment.
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
Questions to think about:
• What is the earth’s carrying
capacity?
• Will the population outgrow
the food supply?
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz
In-text Figure
Page 705
Good planets are hard to find.
FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz