FOOD HUNGER AND DEVELOPMENT

Food Hunger and Development



Food Hunger and Development

Introduction

The right to food is one of the principles proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 (Ellis & Freeman, 2004). The Declaration on the progress and development in the social field claimed in 1969 that it is necessary to eliminate hunger and malnutrition and protect the right to adequate nutrition. Likewise, the Universal Declaration for the final elimination of hunger and malnutrition, adopted in 1974, states that every person “has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition in order to develop fully and retain their physical and mental faculties” (Ellis & Freeman, 2004). In 1992, the World Declaration on Nutrition also acknowledged that adequate steps should be taken to increase access to appropriate foods. However, there are still millions of individuals affected by the scourge of malnutrition, hunger and the adverse effects associated with food insecurity. One must ponder over whether it is really due to the shortage of food. In general, it is widely accepted that the earth's resources are sufficient to nurture all her habitants. This paper seeks to analyze and describe the causes and consequences of the phenomenon of world hunger.

Discussion

To meet the challenge of hunger, it is necessary to first consider its many aspects and true causes. However, before contemplating over the casuses of hunger, it is necessary to evaluate the effects that hunger has on the lives of people. Hunger affects humans in the following ways:

Hunger Destroys Life

Rather than simply threatening people's lives, hunger also threatens their dignity. A prolonged and acute shortage of food causes the body to weaken while also resulting in apathy, loss of social sense, indifference and sometimes hostility toward the weakest: in particular children and the elderly (George, 1977).

Malnutrition compromises the present and future of a population

In spite of widespread efforts to tackle, malnutrition and hunger are common in several countries and regions of the world. However, it should be understood that hunger is less common across the globe than malnutrition. It may happen that a person is malnourished without being hungry (George, 1977). In this case, the body also loses its physical, intellectual and sociais potential. Malnutrition can be qualitative, due to unbalanced diets (by excess or deficiency). At the same time, it is often quantitative and becomes incisive in periods of shortage. So some people call it 'malnutrition'. Malnutrition invigorates the spread and consequences of certain infective and endemic diseases, increasing mortality rate, especially among children aged less than five years (Ellis & Freeman, 2004).

The main victims are the most vulnerable populations

The poor are the first victims of malnutrition and hunger in the world. Being poor means almost always be more easily proved by innumerable dangers that threaten the survival and have lower resistance to physical illness (Davis, 2001). Since the 80s, this phenomenon worsens and threatens an increasing number of people in most countries. Within a poor population, the first victims are always the weakest: children, pregnant or breast-feeding women, sick and ...