10% of the US population does not have food security. 25% lives paycheck to paycheck. The simple truth is people don’t have room in their lives to worry about a

10% of the US population does not have food security. 25% lives paycheck to paycheck. The simple truth is people don’t have room in their lives to worry about abstract problems that don’t impact them when their basic needs are not met. Just look to the advance of the desert. People cut down vegetation to burn for cooking, and hasten desertification. But what choice do they have? They need to eat. Environmentalists are increasingly starting to view poverty reduction and fostering economic opportunity as a critical first step in wildlife protection.