Hunger And The Global Environment

Copyright 2005 Wadsworth Group, a division of Thomson LearningCopyright 2005 Wadsworth Group, a division of Thomson Learning

FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz

FON 241 Principles of Human Nutrition; L. Zienkewicz

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.

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

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 HotspotsNote: Areas with stripes of color have multiple causes of hunger.

Food Waste• 96 billion pounds of food waste

in the U.S/year

• 27% of the food produced is wasted

Live to Eat ? or Eat to Live ?

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

Global Malnutrition• Approximately 2 billion people

are malnourished

• Mostly lacking in iron, iodine, Vitamin A and protein/ calorie malnutrition

In-text Figure Page 699

International efforts help to relieve hunger andpoverty in Afghanistan and around the world.

Overpopulation

• 6 billion (estimated) people live on Earth

• 90 million people are born each year

World Population Growth

Mid-decade totals and projections

Bill

ion

Years needed for the world’s population to

reach its:1st Billion 2,000,000 years2nd Billion 105 years3rd Billion 30 years4th Billion 15 years5th Billion 12 years6th Billion 11 years

Questions:

Why is it that malnutrition is such a worldwide problem when we have an ample food supply?

What will happen in the future?

The Cycle… The Problem?

• Population growth leads to hunger and poverty.

• Hunger and poverty lead to population growth.

How can we stop this cycle?

Poverty, Overpopulation, and Environmental Degradation

Populationgrowth—childrenneededto gatherresources

Environmentaldegradation—resources dwindleas the number ofpeople needingfood grows

HungerPoverty

The interactions of poverty, overpopulation, and environmental degradation worsen hunger.

Environmental Limitations

• Soil erosion, compaction and salinization

• Deforestation and desertification due to overgrazing

• Climate changes due to forest destruction

• Water pollution

• Extensive overgrazing

• Overfishing

In-text Figure Page 702

Without water, croplands become deserts.

In-text Figure Page 708

Progress toward Sustainable Food Production

Solutions?…

1. Increase economic growth: sustainable development

2. Slow population growth: decrease the number of children in families

3. Make changes at home…

Locally grown foods offer benefits to both the local economy and the global environment.

Questions to think about:

• What is the earth’s carrying capacity?

• Will the population outgrow the food supply?

In-text Figure Page 705

Good planets are hard to find.