World hunger and world poverty seem like faraway problems to the average American. But such an opinion is to effectively ignore that, according to 2010 estimates by the United Nations, 925 million people in the world are starving. That amounts to about three starving people per American. Furthermore, approximately 9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2008; about one third of these deaths were due to hunger and malnutrition. And of the 178 million children that suffer from stunted growth due to absolute poverty and hunger that survive, all will suffer irreversible problems such as a significantly weakened immune system and an impaired cognitive ability. Such problems are obviously not conducive to surviving in the developing world, where the effects of world hunger and world poverty are most prevalent. World hunger and world poverty are grim, global issues that the international community must work together to end.
Absolute Poverty and World Hunger: Interconnected Problems
We can provide over 2,700 kilo-calories of food per person everyday today (where 2,000 kilo-calories is the recommended daily intake in the U.S.), so a lack of food is obviously not the cause of world hunger. The main cause of world hunger is absolute poverty, which in turn leads to world hunger. Without food, people cannot work efficiently due to failing health and lack of energy. Without money, people cannot buy food. Therefore, a vicious cycle of poverty and hunger exists that must be broken in order to resolve either issue.
Good News: Cooperation Can Easily End World Hunger And Progress Has Been Made
Despite the grip of world hunger on the developing world, there are some good news. Half of world hunger, for example, can be eradicated with less than 7 cents per American, per day. This amounts to about an average of three dollars per American every year — the starvation of almost half a billion people in the world can be ended for less than the price of two McDonald’s happy meals per year for every American. Think of how cheap it would be to end world hunger if we get the rest of the developed world to help out too. Still, I have to point out that monetary aid would probably only serve as a temporary solution or a foundation for future economic development — economic growth and not foreign aid will lead to the long-term eradication of absolute poverty and world hunger.
Furthermore, in 2010, the number of the absolutely poor in the world has fallen for the first time ever, according to research by the World Bank. Also, the decrease was so significant that the United Nations has completed the Millennium Development Goal of decreasing world poverty in half within 15 years. A large portion of the credit, however, belongs to China, which has taken about 660 million people out of poverty since 1981. Still, African and Latin American figures suggested significant decreases in the number of people suffering from absolute poverty. Despite the improvements, about 1.16 billion people still live with between $1.25 and $2.00 a day and about 900 million people still live with under $1.25 a day. Thus, a lot of work still has to be done.
How to End Hunger and Poverty in the World: Free Trade
According to recent research by a 21-member Commission on Growth and Development, trade, not foreign aid, has been integral to economic growth in countries such as China, Oman, and Japan. Foreign aid can actually exacerbate the problems of world poverty and world hunger by decreasing the local prices of food, which would decrease the incentive for local farmers to grow food. Furthermore, governments may respond to free money and food by enacting policies that restrict domestic food production and general economic growth in order to get more “free” money and goods. Thus foreign aid may provide temporary relief, but should not serve as a long-term solution to poverty and hunger in the developing world. At best, temporary aid should function to create the foundation for future economic growth in a country by giving the impoverished the necessary aid they need to get on their feet and work or otherwise engage in entrepreneurship.
A more practical solution is to engage in free trade with developing countries. Basic economics, as explained by Nick Sanders, a researcher at Stanford University, suggests that free trade benefits all participating countries, even if one country has the “absolute advantage” in the production of all goods — this means that even the U.S. will economically benefit from trade with the poorest and least productive countries. Furthermore, Daniella Markheim, a senior analyst in trade policy, says that “free trade is about beating poverty and expanding economic opportunity.” With free trade, entrepreneurship will increase in developing countries, which will allow for stronger capitalistic forces in their own markets to grow — they will develop and create their own industries under free trade with developed countries such as the U.S. Besides, we are currently experiencing high unemployment and increased free trade will make more jobs — about 9.2 million American jobs currently revolve around exports and therefore freer trade can only generate more American jobs. Therefore, free trade can figuratively kill two birds with one stone by helping to end world poverty and hunger, as well as helping to resuscitate the American economy.
In conclusion, world poverty and world hunger are grave and interconnected issues that the international community ought to take seriously through increased free trade with the developing world. While the problem of how to end hunger and poverty in the world is complicated and may involve other measures, such as micro-finance, it is clear that the global community must first become aware of the extent to which absolute poverty and world hunger cause suffering in the world. The consequences of ignoring these grim problems, which is unfortunately the stance held by most of America, are far-reaching and may even hurt our economy in the long run. Still, we should all learn to unite under the banner of humanity in order to seek not just the fulfillment of our own interests, but also the end of preventable massive human suffering everywhere.
Sources:
http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm
http://www.bread.org/hunger/global/facts.html
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/05/27/rx-for-global-poverty.html
http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/third-world-development-foreign-aid-or-free-trade/
http://www.stanford.edu/~sandersn/1A/Advantage%20_and_Trade.pdf
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2007/04/why-free-trade-works-for-america#_ftn1
http://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2011/07/05/export-related-jobs-surge-2010
http://www.umcmission.org/Give-to-Mission/Search-for-Projects/Projects/World-Hunger-and-Poverty
http://www.mcdonalds.com.pk/products/view/menu-pricelist
http://www.economist.com/node/21548963
“Microfinance: the Path to Poverty Alleviation” by Kathryn Mordeno
