Transcript Food and Poverty

Nature of
Food and
Poverty
The Importance of Food
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In a Village of 100 people, the people have
many animals. They help to produce food or
are a source of food. They are:
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31 sheep and goats
23 cows, bulls, and oxen
15 pigs
3 camels
2 horses
199 chickens
The Importance of Food
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There is no shortage of food in the Global
Village. If all the food were divided equally,
everyone would have enough to eat. But
the food is not divided equally…. So,
although there is enough food to feed the
villagers, not everyone is well fed:
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60 people are always hungry, and 26 of these
are severely undernourished
16 other people go to bed hungry at least some
of the time
Only 24 people always have enough to eat.
The Importance of Food
 In
1966, the United Nations declared that
people have a universal right to
adequate food. In your opinion, is an
adequate food supply a human right?
“Feed the family and trade the leftovers.”
“Poverty anywhere is a threat
to prosperity everywhere.”
The Importance of Food
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Why do we eat?
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Meets the physiological (cell replacement &
growth), psychological, and cultural needs
Food is also required for ENERGY
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The body burns kilojoules (produced from food
ingested)
1 kJ = the amount of energy required to move a
mass of one kilogram a distance of 1 meter at
an acceleration of 1 m/s
The World Health Organization (WHO)
recommends a standard of 10 000 kJ/person on
a daily basis
that equals ~2400 calories
The Importance of Food
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How is energy consumed?
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Metabolism – basic body functions such as
breathing, muscle action, blood circulation,
maintaining constant body temperature
(36.9°C)
Physical Growth – requirements peak at 15 – 17
years of age, body maturity and cell
replacements
Physical Activity – walking consumes 1000
kJ/day, energy required for work varies
depending on type of work
The Importance of Food
 What
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are the sources of kilojoules?
Carbohydrates
Sugars and starch
 Wheat, corn, rice and potato
 Easy to produce food and widely available
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Proteins
Meat, milk products, eggs, fish (first class proteins), wheat,
vegetables (second class proteins)
 Are used as a measure of the quality of a nation’s diet
 Are often expensive and scare
 Are the basic building blocks of cells (amino acids)
 Average intake of proteins should be 56 g/day
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The Importance of Food
 What
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are the sources of kilojoules? (continued)
Fats
Butter, lard, egg yolk, vegetable oil
 Most concentrated form of food energy
 If energy is not burned, it is stored by the body
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 The
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body also needs…
Minerals such as calcium and iron
Vitamins such as A, B, C
Fibre – good for digestion
Water
The Importance of Food
 What
are the factors affecting energy
intake?
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Age
Size
Climate (the colder the climate the more kJ
required)
Sex
Activity
Eating habits
The Importance of Food
 Daily
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Average Food Availability
There are 4.186 kilojoules (kJ) in 1 calorie
National average food availability is measured in kilojoules
per capita per day (kJ/c/d)
Geography of Poverty &
Hunger
 The
next few slides are to be read silently
by everyone in the room.
 Take
the time to internalize each slide as
you read it.
Geography of Poverty &
Hunger
We have all been hungry at some time: a
missed meal, a delayed dinner…. Perhaps
you have been sick and unable to eat.
 You have felt the gnawing pain of hunger.
 You may recall being tired or cranky as your
body adapted to the lack of energy.
 Think back to such a time and remember
that feeling.
 Feel it again now.
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Geography of Poverty &
Hunger
 Now
imagine you are in a situation where
you cannot get food and this feeling
continues for a whole day.
 How does the feeling of hunger change?
 Imagine it.
 How does your body react to the lack of
food?
 Imagine the consequences of a day
without food.
Geography of Poverty &
Hunger
 It
is one week later and the only food
you’ve eaten is some bread and water.
 You have lost weight as your body draws
from its reserves.
 Imagine the feeling of hunger now.
 Imagine how your ability to perform
simple tasks has been affected.
Geography of Poverty &
Hunger
 Imagine
the situation continuing for months…
 years…
 or
a lifetime…
Geography of Poverty &
Hunger
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Why do diets differ around the world?
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Culture & Taboos – according to certain
religions, certain foods may or may not be eaten
Money – Canadians have the opportunity to
purchase many types of exotic foods
Nutrition – many people focus on eating healthy
often times nutritious foods are rather costly
Environment – many diets are based in what can
be grown in a certain area
Geography of Poverty &
Hunger
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Starvation is a state of suffering caused by not
having enough food to sustain life.
Famine is an extreme scarcity of food that occurs
when the resource base shrinks because of a natural
phenomenon such as drought.
Cash crops are agricultural products that are grown
solely for sale, rather than for consumption by the
growers.
Geography of Poverty &
Hunger
 Chronic
hunger is a condition in which
essential nutrients are excluded from the
diet over an extended period.
 Malnutrition is a condition in which there
is a deficiency of one or more proteins,
minerals, or vitamins in a diet.
Geography of Poverty &
Hunger
 The
global food system is based on large scale
commercialization, domination by large transnational
corporations who control trade and pricing in food
commodities and vast amounts of farmers, workers,
and land and on an increasing emphasis on growing
cash-crops for export.
 Many developing countries are economically
dependent on single commodities. Commodity and
food prices have not risen significantly in the past
decade while the cost of input has risen dramatically.
Geography of Poverty &
Hunger
The global food system responded to the
demands of rapidly growing population
throughout the second half of the twentieth
century with some success.
 BUT not all the world’s peoples enjoyed this
expansion of food supplies (with problems
such as the depletion of fish stocks and the
exhaustion of farmland).
 It is clear that our present methods of
producing, processing, and distributing food
will NOT solve world hunger.
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Geography of Poverty &
Hunger
 We
are part of a global food system. The peanut
farmer in Senegal is probably not producing food for
local needs. The pressure to produce cash crops for
export over domestic food crops is huge. This might
be best exemplified by the Global Chocolate Bar!
Sugar NICARAGUA
 Cocoa IVORY COAST
 Peanuts SENEGAL
 Palm Oil MALAYSIA
 Coconut Oil THE PHILIPPINES
 Soybean Oil BRAZIL
 Milk 
CANADA
Geography of Poverty &
Hunger
Myths & Facts - Read the dozen statements
regarding world hunger and determine
whether they are myths or facts.
 Explanations - Identify as many reasons for
global hunger that you can.
 Solutions – What sorts of steps could
governments take to try to ensure that
everyone’s needs are met (large-scale
farmers, small-scale farmers, and the hungry
poor)? What could YOU do?
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Geography of Poverty &
Hunger
 Read
“The Geography of Poverty and
Wealth” by Jeffrey Sachs, Andrew
Mellinger, and John Gallup from Scientific
American and answer the questions that
follow it.
Factors Affecting Food Supply
Plants & Animals
 Government Policy
 Traditional Food Production
 Cash Crops & Agribusinesses
 Modern Food Production
 Environmental Deterioration
 Pests
 Control of Land
 Military Spending
 Natural Hazards
 Foreign Aid
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Factors Affecting Food Supply
 Strategies
that have been used to increase the global
food supply include….
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Increasing the amount of land under cultivation
Increasing the yields per hectare of crops
Increasing the number of crops grown on each hectare of
cropland
Replacing lower yielding crops with higher yielding crops
Reducing post harvest losses (pests & spoilage)
Reducing the use of feed for animals (there is enough
grain to feed 7.8 billion people)
Reducing overconsumption and waste of food
Factors Affecting Food Supply
 Did
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you know that…
In Canada crops are purposefully not grown or are
destroyed in order to keep supply in line with demand so
that prices stay higher.
The FAO’s estimates that ~ 800 million undernourished
people in the world:
775 million in developing countries,
 25 million in countries switching to a market economy, and
 10 million in industrialized countries.
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The Poverty Cycle
Shortened
Life Expectancy
Poverty
Malnutrition
Low Disease
Resistance
Decreased
Ability to Work
Decreased
Energy
Decreased
Ability to Learn
High Death Rate
for Children