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Are people hungry because of scarcity?

I could have presented this particular segment earlier but I found that it was necessary to wait until now to save a certain level of momentum as we are experiencing turmoil and a deep malaise at home about to organize or not to organize elections. Must I ask why must a democratic society organize elections periodically? Is not it to rectify, to better, to improve the situation of the people , to embellish the country and to elevate the standards of living of each citizen regardless of their class, creed and ethnicity by electing the most trustworthy and most competent candidates of the nation who would have demonstrated vision, an understanding of the country?s situation, experiences or expertise, success in his trade and/or the ability to perhaps translate his ideas, philosophy , doctrine, or vision in material, intellectual, moral, and spiritual achievements for the benefits of the nation if he is elected ? How many candidates have been giving priority to this urgent and critical problem of hunger in the country and which government has solved this problem and the problem of Erosion? What have been their answers so far for not solving them? Who has demonstrated results since the end of the Duvalier dictatorship? Was not hunger among the masses one of the major reasons of the discontent of the citizens who militated against the Duvalier regime besides lack of freedom ?

Now, why should the people vote for any candidate who cannot guarantee the eradication of hunger , erosion, illiteracy , exclusion and violence? Should not those plagues be eradicated before we can reach effective Development and effective Freedom for each citizen in a democratic Sovereign State of law ? What has our elite been proposing before and after the Duvalier regime? Is it food for the stomach or stomach for the food? In other words what is the purpose of politics if it is not to serve the people? Are people hungry because they are so ignorant that they are passive or because of scarcity? What is the answer to that question? We know here at Sakapfet that it is not they are ignorant since we have already discussed this matter in a previous segment but let us hear the experts of the Institute for Food and Development Policy who have replied to the question regarding scarcity of Food in those terms :

?Hunger exists in the face of plenty; therein lies the outrage. Right now the earth is producing more than enough to nourish every human being, both on a global level and even within the very countries we all associate with hunger and starvation.

Measured globally, there is more than enough to feed everyone. Considering only grain, enough is produced to provide everyone with ample protein and more than 3000 calories a day, about the caloric intake of the average American(A third or more of this grain is now fed to livestock.) And this 3000 calorie estimate does not include many other foods-beans, root crops, fruits nuts, vegetables, and grass-fed meats.

But global estimates mean little except to dispel the widespread notion that we have reached the earth?s limits. What really explodes the myth that scarcity is the cause of hunger is the fact that enough food is being produced even in countries where so many are forced to go hungry.

In India, while millions starve, soldiers patrol the government?s 16 million tons of ?surplus? grain. In the Sahelian countries of West Africa even during the much publicized drought and famine of the early seventies, surveys by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, squelched by displeased aid- seeking governments, documented that each Sahelian country, with the possible exception of mineral rich Mauritania, actually produced enough grain to feed its total population. In Mexico , where at least 80 percent of the children in the rural areas are undernourished , livestock( much of it raised for export to the United States) consume more basic grains than the country?s entire rural population.

In Bangladesh, one of the world?s most densely populated countries, enough grain is produced to provide, theoretically, each person with more than 2600 calories a day. Yet over half the families in Bangladesh daily consume less than 1500 calories per person, the bare minimum necessary. Following the 1974 floods, millions in Bangladesh perished. But they did not die because of scarcity.

One Bangladeshi describes what happened in her village:? A lot of people died of starvation here. The rich farmers were holding rice and not letting any of the poor peasants see?? Asked whether there was enough food in the village, she replied,? There may not have been a lot of food, but if it had been shared, no one would have died?

Nor should we ever forget that in the United States millions have not enough to eat. Who would argue it is because there is not enough food produced?

Hunger is real, scarcity is not.?

Mèsi anpil pou atansion nou zanmi konpatriot

A suivre.

This research has been conducted through the channels of the Institute for Food and Development Policy. U.S.A.

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