Hunger as an Ethical Issue
Larry D. Sanders
Spring 2002
Dept. of Ag Economics Oklahoma State University 1



Purpose:
– to understand ethical issues related to hunger
Learning Objectives:
1. To become aware of population and hunger trends.
2. To understand the key ethical issues/questions related to hunger and connections to population growth.
2

 Education
 Labelling
 Food Assistance
– Food Stamps
–
Food Distribution Programs
– School Lunch Programs
–
WIC
– Welfare Reform
 Free Market
3

 AREA POPULATION FOOD
 ASIA 40% 15%
 AFRICA 10% 5%
 L. AMERICA 10% 10%
 EUROPE 25% 45%
 N. AMERICA 10% 25%
 OTHER 5% 1%
4

 Each minute 28 humans die from hunger & malnutrition
– 21 are children
– Equals a “Hiroshima” every 3 days
 Chronic Malnutrition: 10% of World Population
5

 2 x Deaths in All Wars Past
150 yrs = Hunger Deaths in
Past 5 yrs
 250,000 infants/small childrean die each week from diet-related, “easily” preventable diseases
 Thousands more--dietrelated blindness & physical
& mental retardation
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14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH,
ESTIMATED & PROJECTED
(3 Million BC-2036)
8000 BC
3 m il. BC
5000 BC 1400 BC
1200 1900 1996
YEAR
5000 BC
3000 BC
1400 BC
0
1200
1700
1900
1960
1996
2036-50
5-10 MIL.
20 MIL
50 MIL.
100 MIL.
200 MIL.
400 MIL.
800 MIL.
1.5 BIL.
3 BIL.
6 BIL.
11-12 BIL???
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 Not a food production problem
 Economics--poverty--is the problem
8

 Economic development is the key
 Education is the foundation for economic development
 But . . .
–
What is the carrying capacity of earth?
–
What pressures can we expect to worsen?
»
Economic?
» Physical?
»
Sociopolitical?
9

“The Tragedy of the Commons” &
“Lifeboat Ethics” (Garrett Hardin--VP)
 Common resources (oceans, air, public land) will be overused/ exploited
 Price mechanism or property rights necessary to ration

“Free” food would lead to even greater tragedy (larger population crash)

“Carrying capacity” important
 Alternative view: Lifeboat view
(utilitarian) forces competitive view
(human-human & human-nonhuman) rather than cooperative view
10

Foreign Agricultural Assistance:
Ethical Issues (TMR)
 An issue of distributive justice
 Charity?
 Human survival/ decency?
 Strategic measures?
 Emergency assistance vs.
Development assistance?
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Some Ethical Questions:
Is Hunger a Reason to--
 Legally restrict human reproduction?
 Encourage population control?
 Restrict/eliminate meat consumption or grain for animal feed?
 Promote biotechnology to grow more food?
 Sacrifice habitat/species/ ecosystems to grow more food?
 Do little/nothing & let nature restore a balance?
 Discontinue technological solutions/ health care that expand longevity and/or reduce death rates and/or increase birth rates?
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More Ethical Questions:
If we save people from hunger--
 How do we/they suffer the reduced quality of life?
 How do we/they accept the near certain increases in crime/violence/war?
 How do we/they handle increased pressures on natural resources?
 How do we/they handle increased pressures on social infrastructure?
 Can we continue to count on the technological fix?
13

Team Exercise

Using the “human population” lecture & the
“carrying capacity” handout & Hardin’s articles:
1. Discuss the issues of agricultural production and natural resource management.
2. Consider alternative policy options to address these issues.
3. Outline/summarize the recommended evolution of the “social contract” with agriculture in the next 10-15 years with respect to environmental issues.
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