To Trinifar
Re poverty versus lack of food.
Hunger can be the result of either. There have been times in the past where India simply could not grow enough food to feed its population and people starved. That is hunger caused by lack of food. In today's world, lack of food is the minor cause of hunger.
On the other hand, modern day India has heaps of food production, and could readily feed all its population. However, the very poor cannot buy that food, and starve, surrounded by plenty. Poverty is the major cause of hunger in today's world.
There are some parts of the world, and especially Africa, where the potential to grow lots of food exists, but peasant farmers lack the resources to buy seed, fertiliser, pesticides, or irrigation equipment. Thus, they cannot grow enough food, and they starve. However, for them, the real cause of their hunger is poverty - unable to buy the means to grow more.
I am sure you can see the two causes as distinct. The fact of poverty, and hunger caused by poverty, is an issue whose cause is politics and economics. We have countries like Zimbabwe, which once exported food, and now has large numbers starving. Why? Becuae they have an asshole as a leader. Robert Mugabe has screwed the country's economy for his own reasons. Zimbabwe, under good leadership, could readily feed all its people and even export food again. It will take the replacement of Mugabe with someone like Mandela to do it. However, it is possible.
To feed 9 billion is eminently do-able. We have the technology to do it right now, without having to destroy natural ecosystems. Africa alone could at least treble its food production if modern methods and the finance needed became available. Soon Asia will feed its own people, and Africa can follow, if the right leadership is in place.
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Science, not dogma!
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