Hunger: the food supply

Hunger means there's not enough food for everyone to eat, right?

Every day, 4.3 pounds of food is produced per person on Earth. There is enough food produced in the world to provide 2,807 calories per person per day. There's enough food for most people to get fat (obesity epidemic, anyone?).

Livestock take precious food resources away from the hungry, right?

Livestock are included in the figures above. In addition, there are places in this world that are not viable for cropping, but that can 'grow' meat. Take a look at the pictures of Karamoja and tell me the world has a black and white choice between crops and livestock.

So, if we're producing enough food, and it's not the wrong kind of food to produce, why are people hungry?

This week, I'll be focusing on the reasons for a lack of food where it's needed, economic, political, social, and practical (in that order, I think). Just remember: there's no lack of food supplied to feed the world. Hunger is not physically neccessary.