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Why is there still famine in the world?

By: Mary Kerr

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With all the modern technology and innovation we have these days, there are still millions, perhaps up to a billion people a day that do not have enough to eat. How can this be? Why with all the combined knowledge of thousands of years of history, as well as the most recent advances in genetically modified food and disease resistant plants do so many not have enough to eat?

The first problem with scarcity has to do with people themselves. In many countries there are simply too many people for the resources available. There is either not enough land, or peoples demand simply outstrips the supply of food.

The second problem is greed. The worlds largest economies are very frugal when it comes to sharing with the outside world, at least when it comes to food innovations. Countries will send direct food aid and assistance, often funded by the taxpayers, but sending direct technical help and farmers to advise the locals on what to do are often not supplied. In many parts of the world, agricultural yields are incredibly low owing to a lack of knowledge. Locals often don't know how to manage and plant for maximum effectiveness, therefore the land just decreases in yield and people barely grow enough to feed their own families, much less the rest of the county.

Countries in the developed world provide genetically modified seeds to help the problem, but of course most locals can't afford such innovations, and they aren't giving them away. The rich just get richer by exploiting the poor and underprivileged by keeping them in the dark. Companies promote their own seeds and fertilizers, but they may not be the best for the region they are being sold to, and governments are obviously in on this corruption.

That is another problem. Many third world countries are extremely corrupt and negligent. Most of the food aid and potential benefits for the people are siphoned off by the leadership of the country for their own use. Food then only gets to the people after bribes and payoffs have gone to leaders, causing prices to be above what many can pay, leading to more hunger. Many countries also confiscate land of farmers that are too rich, giving the land to locals who produce less than before.

Let us face it. Companies are simply in business to earn money, not to make the world better, no matter what their public relations departments say. Just as companies fight each other to be earn the biggest profits, in effect they are fighting with people too, trying to take as much money as possible and giving the least in return. That is why hunger will be a fact of life more and more in the future. Just as we saw food prices rise in recent years, they will eventually get out of control as food production simply can't keep up with rising populations.

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