Hunger and World Food

World hunger in the world today is caused by many factors. Malnutrition is caused by factors such as wars, bad weather, lack of transportation options, falling crop prices, and rising food prices. These factors affect millions of people across regions and continents. More than a billion people suffer from chronic malnutrition. In spite of official pledges to halve the world’s hungry, the trend now runs in the opposite direction. More than thirty million people die of malnutrition and starvation every year – nearly 100,000 every day.

A global food crisis has erupted lately. In spite of record crops, prices are skyrocketing and reserves dwindling. The media run news of urgent international meetings and promises of official action. Even the most affluent governments feel anxious about the future, while governments of poor countries are in a state of high alarm. In recent years, while food production was said to be adequate for the world’s people, more than eight hundred million suffered from hunger and chronic malnutrition. Now, over a hundred million more people have sunk into serious malnutrition or worse.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), twenty-two countries are particularly vulnerable to the recent food price increases, because they are very poor and because they import much of their food needs, as well as increasingly costly petroleum. The difficulties are now spreading. Many across the world do not get enough food to be healthy and lead active lives, with a staggering three-quarters of all hungry people living in rural areas in Asia and Africa. In this unit learn more about the causes of world hunger, high food prices, dietary practices, and climate change as well as background on efforts to end world hunger.