Archive for category: Hunger

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Small Island, Big Appetite: Seven Facts About Hunger in Japan

Hunger in Japan
While Japan enjoys one of the largest economies in the world after the U.S. and China, hunger in Japan is an undeniable threat to one of the most highly developed nations. Here are the top seven facts you should know about the imminent food crisis of the most populous island nation:

  1. Nearly 16 percent of two-parent Japanese families are financially unable to provide enough food for their children — this figure jumps to 32 percent among single-parent households.
    As a leader in child nutrition programs, Japan is tackling food insecurity by improving its meal programs for children who live in food-insecure households.
    Non-profit organizations such as Second Harvest Japan help fight hunger in Japan by serving 100 families, 75 percent of which are single mothers, with weekly or monthly food shipments.
  2. Japan relies heavily on food imports.
    Producing only 39 percent of the country’s food demand, Japan currently has the lowest food self-sufficiency ratio among all major developed countries, compared to Britain producing 70 percent and France producing 120 percent of what each country consumes respectively.
    Reliance on food imports puts Japan’s meager food supply in a vulnerable position as hunger worsens.
  3. Japan’s traditionally pescetarian diet has embraced the high protein and high fat “Western diet” which has spiked demand for imported food — especially beef.
    From living off of what the local marine life offers, Japan is now the largest meat importer in the world. Not only is Japan’s food supply more fragile because it relies on imports, but studies also show that global meat production has severe environmental consequences.
    Even if Japan began domestically producing meat, Japan would need to devote 50 percent of its arable land to meet the demand for just chicken and pork.
  4. Current overpopulation and fears of future underpopulation are complicating Japan’s hunger crisis.
    Tokyo alone boasts nearly 14 million residents, making it the most populous city in the world. However, Japan’s population has shrunk by 1 million in the past five years and is aging quickly.
    As the population ages and low fertility rates prevail, Japan’s economy is expected to shrink and projected to have fewer farmers and fewer people to pay for food imports.
  5. Japan’s agricultural sector has shrunk to one percent of its GDP.
    In the wake of Japan’s industry and tourism boom, farmers found that they could make more profit selling their land or renting it rather than cultivating it.
    The agricultural shift to a more industrial focus is the primary culprit to blame for Japan’s food insecurity.
  6. Hunger in Japan is driving the country to set its sights on developing arable African land.
    Instead of focusing on domestic efforts to prevent further food insecurity, Japan is helping Mozambique and other developing regions of Africa to become future exporters for Japan’s food demand.
    Japan’s ProSavana project has been criticized as a “neo-colonialist economic exploitation” that is sold to Mozambique and the international community as sustainable agricultural development, according to the Journal of Global Initiatives.
    The UNAC President Augusto Mafigo voiced his concerns for the possible consequences of the ProSavana project: “We are extremely frustrated that the ProSavana program is not designed for the weak. It is designed for facilitating companies to acquire land. If that really happens, that would destroy our community.”
  7. Japan Today reports that annual food waste in Japan amounts to as much as 18 million tons.
    A projected 5-8 million tons of wasted food is actually edible but is discarded because of small blemishes or visual imperfections. If Japan would take a cue from France, who recently made it illegal for supermarkets to waste edible food, the amount of edible food waste rescued in Japan would be equivalent — or even surpass — the amount of annual global food aid.

As one of the most prosperous nations in the world, Japan risks underestimating its fragile food supply. To address the roots of hunger in Japan, solutions centered on domestic development rather than international food importing is crucial.

– Daniela Sarabia

Photo: Flickr

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Strides Made Toward Defeating Hunger in Pakistan

Hunger in Pakistan
Almost a quarter of the population in Pakistan goes to sleep hungry every night according to the latest Global Hunger Index released on Oct. 12, 2016.

While many Pakistani economists and commentators are pleased that the levels of hunger in Pakistan have been downgraded from “alarmist” to “serious,” conditions remain concerning.

The World Food Program estimates that six out of 10 Pakistanis are food insecure and almost half of women and children under 5 years of age are malnourished. The sad part is that food insecurity persists although food production is sufficient to feed all Pakistanis.

The problem stems from wrong priorities in terms of food crops throwing the nutritional balance completely out of kilter. Hunger in Pakistan isn’t as much a result of lack of food as it is of deficiencies in diet ranging from protein to iodine, along with other health problems due to insufficient intake of essential nutrients.

These have serious implications for economic growth and development. Thus, just three types of malnutrition are responsible for a loss of three to four percent of GDP in Pakistan in any given year, according to the United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition (SCN) fifth report on the world nutrition situation.

In human terms, the impact of malnutrition is even more serious and gut-wrenching. Figures obtained from multiple governmental and non-governmental organizations by Pakistan’s newspaper The Express Tribune reveal that around 352,000 children who are under the age of five die every year in the country.

In addition, the country has the highest rate of first-day deaths and stillbirths at 40.7 per 1,000 births. What’s worse, 28,000 mothers die every year during childbirth, show reports prepared by the PDH Survey, the World Health Organization, Save the Children and United Nations’ Children Fund. More than 204,542 children died within the first 28 days, the figures show.

The PDH Survey 2006-07 says that Pakistani children are more likely to die young in rural areas. That’s because one of the major causes for poor nourishment is that women have little access to health services and education and consequently little nutritional knowledge while feeding their children. Of course, large family sizes are another reason for food shortages.

Agriculture is vital to the Pakistani economy since it employs almost half the workforce and contributes over a fifth of GDP. The answer to the chronic hunger in Pakistan then lies in finding a way to modernize the sector and increase productivity as well as improve the choice of crops.

– Mallika Khanna

Photo: Flickr

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Addressing Hunger in Burkina Faso is a Community Affair

Hunger in Burkina Faso
In Burkina Faso, over 29% of children under five years old suffer from stunting, which is a form of malnutrition and a direct result of hunger. This occurs due to a lack of nutritious foods in the womb and throughout their first few years of life. These children are more susceptible to disease, poor school performance and difficulties as they grow older.

Statistics on Hunger in Burkina Faso

  • Two-thirds of children suffering from undernutrition do not receive medical attention.
  • About 40% of infant deaths in Burkina Faso are linked to undernutrition.
  • Stunted children with a height deficiency, relevant to age, completes an average of 0.3 years less of education, than children who are not stunted.
  • Burkina Faso’s workforce has decreased by 13.6%. Infant mortality rates are associated with undernutrition.
  • On a national scale, only 11.4% of children under two-years-old receive the recommended number of daily meals.
  • Roughly 499,000 children, under five years old, suffer from acute malnutrition.
  • Even though food is accessible in local markets, chronic poverty and disasters reduce food availability. Over 1.5 million children are at risk of food insecurity, while 350,000 need emergency assistance.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is a prominent organization helping the country increase farming and food production techniques. Their program, called FASO, supplies a women’s group with locally fortified flour, specifically for infants, and helps them establish a distribution and marketing network. These local sources of nutrition improve the availability of food and expand the local economy.

In order to end malnutrition and hunger in Burkina Faso, increasing the supply and affordability isn’t sufficient. Burkina Faso’s communities will need to be taught proper health, nutrition and hygiene. CRS has helped establish care group leaders in villages to aid pregnant women and new mothers. These women encourage conventional breastfeeding, sustainable nutrition for infants and accessible health care for pregnant mothers and children roughly two-years-old, or younger.

To hold each other accountable for health improvement, community members tend to a scoreboard, which tracks the village’s progression of health achievements. The physical scoreboard captures the public’s health efforts and visually invokes competition for more successful results.

“Having the scoreboard reminds us there is still a problem to address. We’re still facing challenges. The scoreboard is our motivator and reminder. There are still women who don’t practice exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months. We need to work. Even if we can’t get rid of all the red [on the scoreboard], we can reduce it,” Tiga Ouedraogo, a health promoter, told CRS.

On top of improved access to safe drinking water and community sanitation, construction of facilities is important in reducing diarrhea and infections. Open defecation is common in many villages, where latrines, or toilets, are not present. People lack privacy, but they are also susceptible to snake bites, or other animals attacking them while using the bathroom. Rainy weather spreads this human waste, which heightens the susceptibility to disease.

Each year, hunger in Burkina Faso costs roughly $409 billion, which equates to 7.7% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). These costs riddle healthcare and education, which affects worker productivity. In 2014, roughly a quarter of Burkina Faso was deemed undernourished. However, the construction of at least 600 toilets has impacted 36 villages, and more than 16,500 people in 55 villages have potable water now. Progress is slowly being made with organizations, such as CRS, improving the health and hunger of Burkina Faso.

– Rachel Williams

Photo: Flickr

Bahamas National Feeding Network: Eradicating Hunger

Bahamas National Feeding Network
The Bahamas National Feeding Network (BNFN) and AML Foods Limited have collaborated to award 60 single mothers with $100 gift vouchers for the purchase of staples, ground produce and other food items. This initiative is one of their many attempts to expunge hunger among local Bahamians.

Selection Process and Statistics

In 2013, the Commonwealth Government of the Bahamas, with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Department of Statistics conducted a household outlay revealing 12.5% of the population in the Bahamas lives in poverty conditions. The poverty rate is significantly higher in the Family Islands at 17.2% and New Providence at 12.4%.

The women were selected by community leaders who believed that they would be suitable beneficiaries of the Bahamas National Feeding Network Initiative. These women are faced with the economic hardship of single parenthood.

AML Foods Limited recognizes this concern and drives the impetus to help eradicate hunger. “We at AML Foods Limited feel strongly about hunger prevention and healthy living,” said Renea Bastian, Vice President of Marketing & Communications of AML.

What is the BNFN?

The Bahamas National Feeding Network is a non-profit group that consists of 13 individual organizations who have decided to tackle the hunger crisis evident among the archipelago of islands. The Feeding Network started in 2013 and has been in operation for the past three years. The main function of the organization is to collect and distribute food items to the indigent living among the Bahamian enclave.

AML foods have committed to donating 100,000 over the next three years towards eradicating hunger in Grand Bahamas. The company has contributed over $30,000 in food coupons through the BNFN. The BNFN has donated more than $350,000 to its web of 110 partners in its three years of operation.

The Bahamas National Feeding Network also provides the foundation for self-empowerment and independence in a sustainable way for poor families. “While we are giving, we are also teaching people to grow,” said diplomat, businessman and philanthropist Frank Crothers, Bahamas Feeding Network Chairman.

More on the Ground

The BFN has also played an integral role in the funding of the Bahamas Children’s Emergency Hostel presenting a $1,000 donation. The temporary childcare facility relies primarily on donations for maintenance and daily functioning such as providing food, supplements, clothes and healthcare for children who have been abandoned or neglected.

– Shanique Wright

Photo: Flickr

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How Can Impossible Foods Inc. Reduce Poverty in India?

Impossible Foods
The goal of Impossible Foods Inc. is not only to protect animals but also to create more sustainable sources of food by creating replicas of meats, eggs, cheese and other animal-based foods with plant derivatives. Patrick Brown, a biochemistry professor at Stanford University, founded the company, based in Redwood City, California. The company raised an impressive $108 million in funding from many wealthy donors including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing who support the business and its cause.

Brown started the company while he was on sabbatical when he realized his science background could impact the animal industry and reduce its carbon footprint. He creates beef substitutes with plant-based molecules, which taste, smell and feel like beef. Brown and his team of scientists are working to improve the taste and the cost-efficiency of the product.

With the global population expected to rise to almost 9.5 billion humans by 2050, Impossible Foods hopes to provide food for everyone, especially those who are in poverty. Moreover, Impossible Foods strives to be environmentally friendly. It argues that a quarter-pound burger patty will save as much water as a 10-minute shower, reduce 18 miles of greenhouse emission gas and free up 75 square feet of farmland.

Impossible Foods’ model is not only environmentally friendly but also has the potential to contribute to poverty reduction in religiously vegetarian countries like India. India’s population growth is concerning despite the fact that the nation’s economy is growing at a fast pace. The Gross Domestic Product increased 4.5 times and the country itself is producing enough food to feed everyone; however, many women and children are still starving in India.

Almost 40% of the fruits and vegetables and 20% of the food grains produced in India are lost due to an inefficient supply chain and do not reach consumers. Hunger and poverty in India could be reduced by Impossible Foods invention of the plant-based burger.

When you get the same amount of protein that you need daily and it is produced using 95% less land, 74% less water and 87% less greenhouse gas emissions, there is no reason to oppose Impossible Foods’ idea.

Currently, Impossible Foods is working on how to be cost-effective and make the taste more similar to real meat. As the company grows and develops further it will make a huge impact on the global food chain supply and further reduce poverty around the world.

– Gulyn Kim

Photo: Flickr

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Agriculture in Haiti: Hope Grows from the Ground Up

Agriculture in Haiti
Convoy of Hope’s Agriculture Initiative helps families and farmers by providing them with the skills and tools to grow healthy crops. This plan generates tens of thousands of meals to feed starving children while simultaneously providing much-needed work and income to the impoverished farmers.

Food security is a top priority in the fight against poverty. When people are hungry, they cannot focus on becoming economically independent, as their primary focus is to feed themselves and their families. Convoy of Hope helps farmers to ensure the food security of local communities while also playing a major role in lifting disaster-ridden communities through agriculture in Haiti and around the world.

The Agriculture Initiative was piloted in Haiti where food aid became a burden instead of a benefit. After years of receiving food in the wake of disasters, local farmers had lost the knowledge of proper farming techniques. This agricultural team is led by Jason Streubel. Streubel is a Senior Advisor for Agriculture at Convoy of Hope, associate professor of applied science at Evangel University and holds a Ph.D. in Soil Science from Washington State University. Streubel and Convoy of Hope have launched projects for agriculture in Haiti and several other countries worldwide.

Streubel and a team of agronomists from Convoy’s partner, Mission of Hope Haiti, facilitate this process by providing local farmers with resources that were previously unavailable to them.

Convoy’s team trains local farmers in agronomy, which is the science of soil management. After participating in the program, these farmers are able to grow their own crops, produce enough food to feed their families and provide some food for Convoy’s children’s feeding efforts in the country. The program is growing as quickly as the farmers’ crops; their efforts are expanding to reach the rest of the hungry world. Convoy of Hope now offers programs on how to start and maintain urban gardens in countries like the Dominican Republic and the Philippines.

Much of the program’s success can be attributed to its well organized three-step approach.

  1. Assessment
    Convoy uses the best tools available to analyze the environment, looking at everything from the local culture to the economic situation in order to understand and deal with the food security needs of a given community.
  2. Education
    Convoy provides curriculum, workshops and professional agronomists to teach the people how to farm properly. They also encourage farmers to share the information with as many people as possible, helping to grow the agricultural industry in Haiti and around the world.
  3. Implementation
    Once underway, a trained agronomist assists local farmers in applying the best agronomic practices in the fields, allowing for a much greater crop yield.

Convoy of Hope’s implementation of successful agriculture programs provides a sustainable solution to address hunger and poverty. Rather than simply feeding the hungry, Convoy of Hope gives them the tools to feed themselves and grow as their crops do: from the ground up.

– Aaron Parr

Photo: Flickr

Japan Gives $21 Million to Relieve Hunger in Africa and Asia

Hunger in Africa and Asia
The fight against hunger in Africa and Asia remains a life-threatening issue. However, in an attempt to end this crucial battle for good, the government of Japan has generously donated a total of $21.6 million to the World Food Programme (WFP).

Distributed among 11 countries, the cash contribution will be used strictly to provide both food and nutrition assistance while consciously adapting to each country’s current needs, necessities and issues.

Countries receiving a majority share of the funding include Guinea ($3.8 million) and Uganda ($2.5 million), while Sri Lanka, the lone South Asian country benefiting from the endowment, will obtain $2.2 million.

In Guinea, the money will be specifically focused on assisting an estimated 150,000 school children in areas where food insecurity has significantly worsened as a result of the recent Ebola outbreak, while mothers in Uganda will receive essential education in health and growth monitoring.

Worldwide, malnutrition and undernutrition are two serious problems for children under five. Nearly half of all deaths in this portion of this population can be connected to undernutrition, while estimated one-in-five children under five are directly affected by malnutrition.

Food insecurity issues are immensely consequential and severe as they greatly increase the harshness and rate of contractible common infections, stall recovery and reduce one’s education.

In addition to this contribution, a number of organizations and initiatives such as The Hunger Project and Feed the Future are currently working to end hunger in Uganda.

The WFP was established in the early 1960s and is presently the world’s largest humanitarian agency dedicated to fighting hunger worldwide. The voluntarily funded organization reaches more than 80 million people in 82 different countries on average annually.

In 2015 alone, total contributions to WFP reached $5 billion, and as of Sept. 25, donations for 2016 are at $4.3 billion.

This funding from the government of Japan will surely go far in ending hunger in Africa and Asia. With a multitude of organizations and momentous contributions annually, the fight against food insecurity truly doesn’t stand a chance.

– Jordan J. Phelan

Photo: Flickr

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Emmanuel Ngulube and USAID: The Malawi Hunger Fight

Emmanuel Ngulube and USAID: The Malawi Hunger Fight
Emmanuel Ngulube — a Zambian native — has dedicated his life to the Malawi hunger fight. Before Ngulube decided to take on the battle of food insecurity in Malawi, he worked as a program specialist for the USAID in Zambia. Zambia, like many African countries, has experienced devastating natural disasters.

Ngulube acknowledged how fortunate his family was to survive the Zambian drought of 1980, because his “father worked for the mines and he could afford to buy food imported by the government, but others relied on emergency food assistance.” USAID’s Food for Peace mission has allowed Ngulube to find his niche and find creative ways for Malawi to establish strong food security.

The current conditions of Malawi resonated with Ngulube, because of the country’s past and most recent history with natural disasters. A record-breaking flood ripped through Malawi just last year, that left tens of thousands stranded. This year Malawi underwent a terrible drought and vast crop failure due to a warm oceanic phase called El Niño. The aftermath of El Niño left 6.5 million people in a crisis of food insecurity in Malawi.

Since Malawi is consistently plagued with natural disasters, its government has created an advanced technology that has assisted the country and its citizens with predicting natural disasters. Thanks to sufficient financing from the Global Facility for Disaster reduction and Recovery, Malawi has been able to establish the Malawi Disaster Risk Management project.

The Malawi Disaster Risk Management project has “led to advanced disaster preparedness by the country’s citizens, who are better able to predict catastrophic events and, therefore, more effectively prepare for them.”

Being able to prepare for natural disasters before they hit is crucial to Malawian citizens’ survival because the majority of them rely on rain-fed agriculture to make a living. One natural disaster can be the difference between a bountiful harvest and a catastrophic event.

For example, the Shire River Basin — which floods yearly — affects thousands each year and heavily hinders lower income families from recovering from natural disasters.

Malawi has developed an economic vulnerability and Disaster Risk Assessment that indicated “annual flood damage in the Shire River Basin resulted in an average loss of 0.7 percent of GDP ($9 million) per year. Elsewhere in the country, drought caused an average economic loss of 1 percent annually ($13 million).”

Although stopping natural disasters from affecting the country of Malawi is a tall task, Ngulube has fallen in love with helping the local communities create new ways to sustain themselves and recover from the tragic times of the past. Ngulube’s influence can be seen within many communities, whose battle with food insecurity in Malawi has been greatly reduced. Ngulube’s progress has only reassured him that his efforts are making a real difference.

– Terry J. Halloran

Photo: Flickr

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Closing in on Food Insecurity in Morocco

Food Insecurity in MoroccoThough Morocco’s GDP growth rate has decreased from 4.4 percent rate in 2015 to below two percent this year, the country eradicating hunger for its citizens.

According to a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report titled “The State of Food Insecurity in the World,” Morocco has made significant progress in the reduction of hunger.

The United Nations group reports that the nation has successfully achieved the Millennium Development Goal to cut the number of the population living in hunger by half in 2015. Addressing food insecurity in Morocco has been a priority with hunger levels currently below 5 percent.

The vast progress in hunger reduction that has earned the Northern African country praise from the United Nations is the result of an economic plan launched in 2008. “Plan Maroc vert,” a plan for a green Morocco (PMV), aimed to stimulate socioeconomic development through agriculture. The plan stipulated policies that maximized production from large-scale farms and supported small-scale farms in reducing poverty and hunger through venture capitalism.

Since 2008, several banks and international agencies have invested $12 billion have been in an estimated 700 mechanization, irrigation and soil fertilization projects.

The Moroccan ministry of economy estimates an additional $2 billion have been spent on 500 small-scale projects to help farmers bring more diversity to their businesses, increase harvest yields and experiment with new seed varieties. Private agricultural investment firms hope to bring Morocco’s fruit and vegetable export potential to fruition in Europe.

Agriculture makes up 15 percent of Morocco’s GDP, with up to 40 percent of the population working in the sector. As a result of the PMV, the agricultural industry has grown by approximately 7 percent, exports have increased by 34 percent and farmland use has risen by 11 percent. These production increases have contributed to decreasing the rate of hunger in Morocco from 7.1 percent and 4.6 percent two years ahead of schedule.

Despite the remarkable progress, some critics of the PMV believe the initiative has prioritized the interests of large-scale agricultural production firms over the needs of rural farmers living in poverty. The FAO reports that small-scale farmers, especially females, often find difficulty in obtaining financial support and technical training. The heavy reliance on rain for abundant harvests has also worried officials of the Morocco’s ability to recover from the effects of climate change.

However, the PMV has exposed neighboring countries to an alternative economic plan. “The plan Maroc vert has created an irreversible momentum without precedent,” Michael George Hage, an FAO representative in Morocco told the Guardian. “It has played a determining role in food security and is inspiring several other African countries.”

– Ashley Leon

Photo: Flickr

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Hunger in Venezuela: Solving the Country’s Food Crisis

Venezuela_Food crisis
Venezuela, a country on the northern coast of South America, is well known for its lush forests and beautiful coastal view. Unfortunately, the breathtaking scenery does little for combating the growing concern of hunger in Venezuela.

Since Nicolás Maduro’s assumption of the Venezuelan presidency in 2013 after Hugo Chávez’s death, polls have found that 87 percent of citizens do not have enough income to provide food for their families.

Of their measly income, 72 percent is spent on food alone. To afford enough food to feed a family, the Center for Documentation and Social Analysis estimated a family would need the equivalent of 16 minimum-wage job salaries.

Inflation has also risen to over 180 percent since December 2015. This is partly because of a drop in oil prices that reduced Venezuelan foreign earnings by two-thirds. However, it also caused in part by the formation of Local Committees of Supplies and Protection (known locally as CLAP).

CLAP regulates when people can go shopping at the supermarket and even what they are allowed to buy based on the last digit of their identity card. For instance, if the identity card ends in a zero or one, a citizen might be able to buy groceries on Monday. They receive staples such as flour, pasta, and soap at a controlled price; the government controls even hunger in Venezuela.

These regulated shopping trips are not enough for struggling Venezuelans; lately, protests have become more widespread and even physically violent. In Cumaná, protestors marched on a supermarket, defying the grocery-shopping schedule implemented by the government, to empty the entire supermarket of food.

Riots like the one in Cumaná have occurred across Venezuela, with as many as 50 riots in the span of two weeks.

In addition to growing participation in supermarket riots, citizens have been calling for President Maduro’s resignation, blaming his socialist policies and exploitation of farmers for the current food crisis. Maduro’s response has been to blame bordering countries for hoarding food and bombing Venezuelan power plants.

Keep an eye on the Borgen Project for more information on hunger in Venezuela and developments in the Venezuelan food crisis.

– Bayley McComb

Photo: Flickr