13 ms·

> The world has more than enough food growing to feed everyone. That's quite a statement you made there, especially in the context of Africa.

saystupidthings 6y ago
Except it's been true for a couple decades now. We throw away enough food to feed the world. You been under a rock?
blotter_paper 6y ago
>Currently, worldwide food production exceeds 2,750 kilocalories per person per day [15], which exceeds the amount required to feed the global population. Although these data account for farm-level waste, they do not include the estimated 20% household food waste [44]. Hence, currently available calories are likely to be about 2,200 kilocalories per person per day, which is sufficient for the world’s current population [23]. Sauce: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6198966/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6198966/ Right under that they note that our food groups are out of whack, but in terms of calories, we could feed everybody... we just don't. It's not just a problem of profit motives; as GP noted, distribution is a real issue. Many places with famine problems also have issues with government stability, and dropping crates of food from the sky just gives food to the people with guns and vehicles who can secure it. If you think about this problem from the point of view of a legitimately charitable entity with tons of cash, it's still not entirely clear how to end world hunger without either propping up small dictatorships or undermining local sovereignty. The last mile is a hard problem. Edit: and obviously, some people eat too much, and we throw away food because of weird profit motives. I'm not trying to downplay those causes of human misery, just trying to point out that there are other hard decisions to be made on the path to feeding all humans.
Tuna-Fish 6y ago
> That's quite a statement you made there, especially in the context of Africa. As the [dead] sibling states, it is absolutely true, and has been true since the maturing of the Green Revolution in the 70's. Famines since then have all been caused by war and politics, not by weather or crop failures.

saystupidthings 6y ago

Except it's been true for a couple decades now. We throw away enough food to feed the world. You been under a rock?

blotter_paper 6y ago

>Currently, worldwide food production exceeds 2,750 kilocalories per person per day [15], which exceeds the amount required to feed the global population. Although these data account for farm-level waste, they do not include the estimated 20% household food waste [44]. Hence, currently available calories are likely to be about 2,200 kilocalories per person per day, which is sufficient for the world’s current population [23]. Sauce: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6198966/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6198966/ Right under that they note that our food groups are out of whack, but in terms of calories, we could feed everybody... we just don't. It's not just a problem of profit motives; as GP noted, distribution is a real issue. Many places with famine problems also have issues with government stability, and dropping crates of food from the sky just gives food to the people with guns and vehicles who can secure it. If you think about this problem from the point of view of a legitimately charitable entity with tons of cash, it's still not entirely clear how to end world hunger without either propping up small dictatorships or undermining local sovereignty. The last mile is a hard problem. Edit: and obviously, some people eat too much, and we throw away food because of weird profit motives. I'm not trying to downplay those causes of human misery, just trying to point out that there are other hard decisions to be made on the path to feeding all humans.

Tuna-Fish 6y ago

> That's quite a statement you made there, especially in the context of Africa. As the [dead] sibling states, it is absolutely true, and has been true since the maturing of the Green Revolution in the 70's. Famines since then have all been caused by war and politics, not by weather or crop failures.