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Three Strategies to Reduce Food Waste and Hunger in Brazil

hunger in Brazil

Every day, 66 million people face hunger in Brazil, yet the country annually wastes 15 million tons of food.

Thirty percent of agricultural products are never consumed. In response, many organizations have mobilized to help Brazil lose its infamous position as the third biggest food-wasting country, and provide relief to the 66 million suffering food insecurity.

Invisible Food Bill in São Paulo

Currently, food products in Brazil have unnecessarily short expiration dates, causing lots of good food to be thrown away. The Invisible Food Bill was proposed by Daniela Leite, Flávia Vendramin and Sergio Ignacio.

The Huffington Post explains the simple goal: “if implemented (the law) would require companies to donate food products that may have lost their commercial value, but are still suitable for consumption.” The trio hope to sell the donated items in a food truck and use the profits to raise awareness about food waste while the rest will go to charities to reduce hunger in Brazil.

U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Network

The FAO was concerned by Brazil’s high food waste, and they have been combating the problem with a network of both public and private organizations. An FAO committee specialist stated that the production chain and infrastructure are to blame. Improved agriculture, shipping and storage practices would lower the 30% agricultural waste. This would save money for producers and lower prices for consumers. Unfortunately, food donation in Brazil is difficult because donors are legally accountable for recipients’ potential illnesses. A “Good Samaritan Law” is currently making its way through the legal system which would protect donors. The U.N. hopes to upgrade the processes to save money for everyone and simplify food donation.

Olympic Leftovers Feeding Hungry People in Rio

Celebrity Chefs David Hertz and Massimo Bottura decided to put the leftovers from Olympic athlete’s meals to good use. The estimated 12 tons of food will be given to people in favelas, or low-income neighborhoods. Both chefs have experience with programs like this; Bottura founded an organization, Food for the Soul, that creates community projects similar to the Olympic program. While Hertz started Gastromotiva, which provides vocational and cooking training to empower low-income people. Volunteers have re-purposed a vacant store into a feeding station that will become a community center with cooking classes after the games. These temporary soup kitchens transformed what would have been waste to 100 hot meals a day.

These organizations are attempting to reroute food from landfills to people. Officials hope the combined effort of the U.N. and other organizations will improve agricultural production and encourage donations with bills like the Good Samaritan Law and Invisible Food Bill.

– Jeanette I. Burke

 

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3 Keys to Ending World Hunger Forever

World HungerThe plight of world hunger is nothing new. On average, one in eight individuals go hungry every day. Currently, about 795 million people suffer from chronic hunger.

This is especially critical in developing countries. There, food productivity and sustainability are just one amongst a plethora of other issues, including overpopulation, civil conflict and lack of education.

However, while the effects of hunger are not limited by race, religion or country, the answer to ending the world’s food shortage problem lies in many, perhaps unexpected places.

Women’s Empowerment

For instance, one such solution can be found in empowering women. Of the 600 million small farmers, herders and food providers in the world, half are women. However, this large fraction of food providers is hindered from producing adequate quotas due to cultural and gender boundaries.

Typically, women have less access to education, ownership of land or livestock. They also receive less credit than their male counterparts. As a result, half of the world’s food providers are unable or not producing nearly enough to sustain themselves, let alone the world’s population.

If these restrictions on female agriculturists decreased, however, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) the number of hungry people in the world would drop 17%.

Education

Another solution to ending world hunger revolves around education. Countries in Africa and South America have fertile land, but with ignorant farmers, food production remains low. These uneducated agriculturists practice outdated farming techniques and in turn reap poor results.

But programs such as Food for Training projects focus on educating food providers in developing nations. They can dramatically improve food production levels and encourage long term self-sustainability at very little cost.

Moreover, school meal projects also reduce hunger amongst children, who most heavily feel the effects of food shortages. In turn, the free or reduced meals schools provide encourage families to send their children to school, which supports education.

Reducing Food Waste

Lastly, a crucial part of reducing and eventually ending world hunger lies in ending global food waste. If the world were to reduce its food waste, a third of the world’s entire food supply would be saved, which is enough to feed 3 billion people.

Ultimately, this would result in a food surplus that could sustain entire countries. However, food recycling projects and campaigns such as Feedback, which focuses on saving leftover produce and creating nutritious meals from marketable food scraps, help reduce hunger. This provides thousands of people around the world with free, nutritious meals.

World hunger has reduced significantly since the 1990s; however, it has since leveled in 2010. Strategies such as food waste reduction campaigns, education and discouraging gender inequality can make significant dents in the fight to end this battle.

– Jenna Salisbury

Photo: Pixabay

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Eliminating Hunger In The Philippines: More Than Just Food Aid

Hunger in the Philippines
Despite an increase in the rate of employment (by about 5 percent), poverty in the Philippines has seen relatively no improvement. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) conducted research in order to guide policymakers in their efforts to alleviate hunger in the Philippines.

In 2015, 17.2 percent of the population lived under the poverty threshold.

Amado Parawan is the health and nutrition advisor for an organization called Save the Children. He recently urged Filipino presidential candidates to re-evaluate their methodologies to address hunger in the Philippines.

Parawan stated that feeding programs are really only a “band-aid solution” to solving the infection of hunger and malnutrition. In addition, he encouraged them to seek foreign aid and consult experts on globally accepted intervention policies.

His plea to candidates follows a recent initiative by Save the Children Philippines called the ‘Lahat Dapat’ campaign. This movement highlights the importance of healthcare in the prenatal and early stages of development for Filipino children.

Current foreign initiatives include the World Food Programme (WFP) of the U.N., which began their work in 1968. However, they had to reestablish their presence in 2006, after the government requested more aid in light of increasing armed conflict.

The program focuses on improving food insecurity and helping communities to build resilience in preparing for natural disasters. In addition, the program also emphasizes the importance of providing healthy meals for children in school.

Each school year, over 65,000 children in the areas of Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte and Maguindanao receive crucial nourishment school meals. Good nutrition then increases school retention rates, as well as the quality of the education children receive.

Additionally, Action Against Hunger works to eliminate hunger in the Philippines. Armed conflicts have displaced many Filipinos. One such area is Zamboanga, where efforts have been directed towards providing clean water, sanitation, and nutrition education.

The government of the Philippines is known for its $450-million conditional cash transfer program, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. It also recently received a new financing package from the World Bank. This social safety net program helps to reduce the vulnerability of families to sudden economic difficulties. The money ensures that children receive ample nutrition and access to education. It also gives pregnant mothers access to regular health exams.

By assessing the methodologies that have been successful in other nations and modifying them to fit the Philippines’ unique needs, the partnership of the government and the international community established a successful food aid program.

The most important consideration when working to eliminate hunger in the Philippines is fostering independence. Humanitarian organizations and the governments involved will not only provide food, but they will also help families become self-sufficient.

If aid continues to be this sustainable and organizations continue to educate households about efficient and healthy lifestyles, Filipinos will develop their own economy and reduce hunger in the process.

– Veronica Ung-Kono

Photo: Rappler

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Effects of Poverty on Society

Effects of Poverty on Society Violence
Issues like hunger, illness, and poor sanitation are all causes and effects of poverty. That is to say, that not having food means being poor, but being poor also means being unable to afford food or  clean water. The effects of poverty are often interrelated so that one problem rarely occurs alone. Bad sanitation makes one susceptible to diseases, and hunger and lack of clean water makes one even more vulnerable to diseases. Impoverished countries and communities often suffer from discrimination and end up caught in a cycle of poverty.

 

Effects of Poverty on Society

 

The vicious cycle of poverty means that lifelong barriers and troubles are passed on from one generation to the next. Unemployment and low incomes create an environment where children are unable to attend school. Children must often work to provide an income for their family. As for children who are able to go to school, many fail to see how hard work can improve their lives as they see their parents struggle at every day tasks. Other plagues accompanying poverty include:

  • Crippling accidents as a result of unsafe work environments—consider the recent building collapse in Bangladesh.
  • Poor housing—a long-lasting cause of diseases.
  • Water and food related diseases that occur simply because the poor cannot afford “safe” foods.

Ultimately, poverty is a major cause of social tensions and threatens to divide a nation because of income inequality. This occurs when the wealth of a country is poorly distributed among its citizens—when a tiny minority has a majority of the money. Wealthy or developed countries maintain stability because of the presence of a middle class. However, even Western countries are gradually losing their middle class. As a result there has been an increased number of riots and clashes. For society, poverty is a very dangerous factor that can destabilize an entire country. The Arab Spring is a great example of how revolts can start because of few job opportunities and high poverty levels.

 

Child Poverty

 

The number of children affected by poverty has been increasing since the 1960s. Children are those with the least amount choice and ability to change their circumstances. There is very little they can do to help their families, nor should they have to. Usually by the age of six they can be enrolled in child labor. Nearly all the potential effects of poverty impact the lives of children—poor infrastructure, unemployment, malnutrition, domestic violence, child labor, and disease. Simply analyzing the effects of child poverty on education in developed countries alone reveal some disturbing statistics:

  • Children from poor backgrounds lag behind at all stages of education.
  • By the age of three, poorer children are estimated to be nine months behind children from wealthier backgrounds.
  • By the end of primary school, students receiving free school meals are estimated to be about three terms behind their peers.
  • By 14, this gap increases to over five terms.
  • By 16, children receiving free school meals are about 1.7 grade points below their more affluent peers’ average GPA.

 

Effects of Poverty and Violence

 

The effect of poverty on terrorism is not as straightforward as the media often perceives it to be. Poverty fuels terrorism by creating a state of misery and frustration that pushes people to join terrorist organizations. But more research shows, it is more complicated.

Of course, some terrorists come from poor countries with high unemployment, and terrorist organizations often provide higher salaries than other jobs. But terrorism may not be a direct effect of poverty. So what is the source of frustration and anger?

Studies show that countries with weak governments, fragile institutions, and limited civil rights are a great environment to nurture the production of terrorist activity. Countries undergoing difficult transitions—i.e. from authoritarian to democratic regime—often encounter political instability with the blurring of certain rules and laws.

These periods of profound change come with a transformation of social order, values, and methods of governing that many people may find distressing and unsettling. Therefore, stabilizing and empowering political institutions is a crucial part of fighting against the dangerous consequences of poverty.

– Scarlet Shelton

Sources: Poverties.org, CPAG, UK Government

Five Movies About Hunger You Should Watch

Movies about HungerSince 1992, the number of undernourished individuals around the world has been nearly cut in half. Despite this progress, global hunger is still a deadly problem affecting many in developing countries. In recent years, several movies have used hunger as an important plot component. Whether they are Biography, Sci-Fi or Drama, these movies help raise awareness for the 13 percent of the global population that still struggles with undernutrition. Here are five movies about hunger:

  1. Slumdog Millionaire
    Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a young man named Jamal as he progresses through the Indian game show, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” Through flashbacks, Jamal recounts growing up as an orphan on the streets of Mumbai where he and his friends had to pull off elaborate schemes just to get enough money to survive.
  2. Interstellar
    Interstellar takes place in future where the world is plagued by food shortage and drought. Matthew McConaughey plays Cooper, a man who sets out into space in order to find a new planet for humans to inhabit. While trying to save his family and the human race, Cooper and his crew find more than they ever expected.
  3. The Hunger Games
    Panem is a land split into 12 districts ruled by a corrupt government. Every year, two children from each district are chosen to participate in a bloody competition called The Hunger Games as punishment from the government. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is from District 12, where the local population is forced to break the laws in order to supply her friends and family with food. Katniss volunteers to compete in The Hunger Games to save her sister, thus sparking her future as “The Mockingjay.”
  4. District 9
    Aliens arrive in South Africa looking for help, but after the dust settles, the South African government is responsible for hundreds of thousands of unruly aliens. The aliens are separated from humans and placed in slums where they must rummage through trash piles to find food and make shelters. When a government agent named Wikus is infected with a strange virus, he must make new allies in order to try and cure himself.
  5. The Pursuit of Happyness
    After his wife leaves him, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) and his son have to endure the ups and down of urban poverty. Even after Chris lands a promising internship, he must fight to provide food and shelter for his son.

While these movies about hunger remind viewers that hunger exists, they also show that hunger is a chief motivation factor for far more beyond curbing an appetite. Success, comfortable living and even the strength to live are directly related to the accessibility of food. The fight to provide food, the central plot element in the movies about hunger, is a very real experience for people all over the world.

– Weston Northrop

Photo: Flickr

Five Important Facts About Stunting from Malnutrition

stuntingThe first of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is to end global poverty. The second is to end world hunger. Fighting the undernourishment of mothers and children is a huge component to ending world hunger.

According to the U.N., one in nine people or 795 million people are undernourished. Poor nutrition causes 45 percent of deaths in children under five.

One of the key indicators of child malnutrition is stunting, a condition in which children are much shorter for their age than they should be.

The following are five important facts about stunting:

1. One in four of the world’s children suffer stunted growth.

According to the U.N. World Food Programme, in developing countries the proportion can rise to as high as one in three. The World Health Organization indicates that stunting affects approximately 162 million children globally. The World Health Assembly, the decision making body of the WHO, drafted the resolution to reduce stunting in children under the age of five by 40 percent.

2. Stunting is caused by poor maternal health and nutrition.

The first 1,000 days from a mother’s pregnancy to a child’s second birthday are vitally important to a child’s overall health and development. It is during this period that good nutrition sets up a child for a healthy life.

Stunting in 20 percent of children occurs in the womb from women that are malnourished themselves. The WHO lists several maternal contributors to stunting that include short stature, short birth spacing, and adolescent pregnancy, breastfeeding complications, and severe infectious diseases.

3. Stunting has lasting effects for the child.

1000 Days is an organization that brings attention to the importance of nutrition in early child development. They note that the effects of stunting last a lifetime. Some include impaired brain development, lower IQ, weakened immune system and greater risk of serious diseases like diabetes and cancer later in life. The problem becomes a vicious cycle in which girls that suffer from malnourishment grow up to be mothers that give birth to malnourished babies.

4. Stunting is a huge strain on economic growth and prosperity.

Good nutrition is a staple of any good economy. The World Bank finds that the investment in nutrition improving programs far outweigh their costs. Ignoring the nutritional development of a country’s human capital will lead to direct losses in productivity, from poor physical status and indirect losses, poor cognitive development and losses in schooling. In fact, economists find that stunting can result in a three percent drop in overall GDP.

Research shows a strong relationship between the height of a labor force and productivity. A 2005 paper in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that reduced adult height for childhood stunting is associated with a 1.4 percent loss in productivity for each one percent loss in adult height.

5. Stunting is irreversible but also preventable.

Once stunting occurs, it cannot be reversed. However, if adequate conditions exist for mothers during pregnancy to access proper nutrition, stunting can be prevented. Significant progress in reducing the number of stunted children has already been seen.

Progress has been seen in many countries like Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and India. These countries have launched specific programs to tackle the effects of malnutrition such as the Rajmata Jijau Mother–Child Health and Nutrition Mission in India and CRECER – the National Strategy against Child Malnutrition in Peru.

– Michael A. Clark

Sources: 1000 Days, NHRI, U.N., UNICEF, World Bank, World Food Programme, World Health Organization
Photo: Flickr

Why the Global Food Security Act of 2016 is Important

Global Food Security Act
Global poverty touches the lives of millions of people. Currently, close to 3 billion people lack access to toilets and 1 billion lack access to clean drinking water. In addition, 2.7 million newborns worldwide die within their first month of life.

Seven countries are home to 58 percent of the world’s hungry: India, China, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Tanzania.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization states that 795 million people suffer from chronic hunger. It is clear that there is much work to do in confronting the problems associated with ending global poverty.

The Global Food Security Act aims to address these problems head-on. The bill is a “comprehensive strategic approach for U.S. foreign assistance to developing countries” according to the text of the bill and hopes ‘to reduce global poverty and hunger, achieve food and nutrition security, promote inclusive, sustainable, agricultural-led economic growth, improve nutritional outcomes” among other objectives.

First introduced in March of last year, The Global Food Security Act has carried much bipartisan support due to its proposed benefits. According to InternAction, a group of non-governmental agencies in Washington D.C, a program launched due to the Act, Feed the Future, Initiative, “improved the nutrition of 12.5 million children and assisted nearly 7 million farmers and producers in improving their use of technology and land management practices.”

On March 10, 2016, the Global Food Security Act (S.1252) moved from the Senate floor to committee. The bill, which was introduced by Senator Robert “Bob” Casey Jr. from Pennsylvania, gained three new cosponsors in February, Senator Benjamin Cardin [D-MD], Senator Bob Corker [R-TN] and Senator Daniel Coats [R-IN]. The new additions bring the total number of cosponsors to 13, seven republicans and six democrats.

The House version of the bill (H.R.1567) that has been in committee since April of last year, also has three recent cosponsors, consisting of Congressman Steve Womack [R-AR3], Congressman Lacy Clay [D-MO1] and Congressman Lee Zeldin [R-NY1] which brings the total number to 123, 82 democrats and 42 republicans.

The Global Food Security Act can have huge potential benefits. The World Bank indicates, “that growth in agriculture is on average at least twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth outside agriculture… Agricultural growth reduces poverty directly, by raising farm incomes, and indirectly, through generating employment and reducing food prices.” By passing the Global Food Security Act, the United States can take decisive action in reducing global poverty.

– Michael Clark

Sources: The Borgen Project, GovTrack 1, GovTrack 2, GovTrack 3, InterAction, Bread for the World, World Bank
Photo: Flickr

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Five Reasons Educating Women Fights Poverty

Educating WomenGender parity in education around the globe has not yet been achieved but great strides are being made toward that goal.

Regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia remain challenges, as boys in these regions are still more than one-and-a-half times more likely to complete their secondary education than girls. Organizations such as UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank keep track of statistics like these in their quest to provide education to girls and women in need.

Data from these types of organizations also illustrates the greater benefits of educating women. Here are five major reasons that educating women benefits everyone:

1. Educated women tend to have smaller, healthier families. Women who stay in school longer are likely to be older when they marry and when they have their first child. Education provides more access to information about family planning and educated women are more likely to have fewer children. Additionally, women learn about immunizations and general medical care for their children. They may also learn how to treat preventable diseases and learn hygiene practices to keep their children healthy.

2. Educated women are more likely to contribute to the economy. The more women participate in a country’s workforce, the healthier its GDP becomes — and every year of additional education increases a person’s capacity to be productive in the workforce. Families also increase their income when both parents contribute, which leads to more families rising out of poverty. UNESCO data shows that if girls enjoyed the same access to education that boys do, per capita income would increase by 23 percent over 40 years.

3. Education combats the problem of hunger. Women who receive more education are older and have more access to life-saving information by the time they begin having children. They are more likely to recognize the signs of malnutrition and to recognize proper nutrition that will prevent their children from becoming malnourished or stunted.

4. Educating women counters the threat of violence and terrorism. If lacking education, both women and men are more likely to be less tolerant of those who look different, who speak a different language or practice a different religion. Increasing tolerance in communities that were previously under-educated serves to spread that tolerance around the world and women are in a prime position to promote this in further generations as caretakers of their own children.

5. Educated women are more likely to have educated children. Once they have experienced the benefits of education for themselves, women are likely to want their children to have the same benefits. This perpetuates the trends of smaller, healthier families, healthier economies and better-informed world citizens.

Not only is educating women one of the most efficient ways for aid organizations to make an impact on gender equality, it also benefits the greater community in terms of prosperity, health and peace.

– Katie Curlee Hamblen

Sources: Bloomberg, UNGEI, UNESCO, World Bank

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Ending World Hunger: Understanding Causes and Effects

World Hunger's Causes and Effects
The causes of world hunger are directly related to those of poverty. Close to 795 million, or one in nine, people living in the world today do not have enough food. Ending world hunger requires an understanding of the causes and effects.

  1. War causes communities which are dealing with crumbling infrastructure, violence and fleeing refugees to be largely unable to maintain stable food systems. Declining income levels during times of war significantly impacts the supply of food and food security.
  2. Agricultural practices such as deforestation, over-grazing and over cropping combined with drought and the effects of soil erosion can often destroy farm and grazing land.
  3. Climate change is a huge factor in causing world hunger as it has been increasing the number of droughts, floods and tropical storms. These often unexpected, rapid natural disasters destroy the small plots of land that farmers count on for their food and livelihood.
  4. As the global population continues to increase, especially in developing countries, the demand for food will invariably continue to rise as well. As food prices rise, it is becoming harder and harder for developing countries to match production rates with the population growth rates.

Poverty and hunger more often than not go hand in hand. Poor people just do not have the resources such as tools, money, land and even physical energy  to combat hunger.

World hunger itself causes roughly 146 million children to be underweight while one in three children in a developing country have their growth stunted. Approximately 66 million primary school age children go hungry every day and between 2 to 3.5 billion people have micronutrient deficiencies. Over nine million people die worldwide from hunger and malnutrition. Five million of those people are children.

In the world right now there is enough food to feed every human being on the planet. Yet according to globalissues.org, concernusa.org and many other organizations and sources, a shocking amount of food is wasted in first-world countries and even in third-world countries.

– Drusilla Gibbs

Sources: Concern USA, Freedom from Hunger, WFP, Global Issues
Photo: Flickr

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ShareTheMeal App Uses Technology to Fight Global Hunger

ShareTheMealThere are 795 million undernourished people in the world today. That’s one in nine people who are not getting enough food to lead a healthy life.

Those numbers make hunger and malnutrition the number one risk to health worldwide. That makes malnutrition a greater threat than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.

Enter the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger today. Each year, the WFP reaches 80 million people with food assistance in around 80 countries.

As an initiative that relies completely on voluntary donations, two managers at WFP, Sebastian Stricker and Bernhard Kowatsh, have created a way to make donating even easier by using technology to fight global hunger.

In fact, thanks to them, donating is right at your fingertips.

That’s because they’ve created an app. It’s called ShareTheMeal.

Currently being hailed as the first of its kind, this free app allows iOS and Android users to fund food rations for as little as $0.50. While a small sum to most in the Western world, in other, poorer parts of the planet, the value can be life-saving. The sum is enough to provide the vital nutrition an individual needs a day.

“The simple act of sharing a meal is how people all over the world come together,” said Ertharin Cousin, the WFP’s executive director, “This digital version of sharing a meal is a tangible way that generation zero hunger can act to end hunger.”

Pilot tests for the app were performed in June 2015 across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Using the technology to fight global hunger, more than 120,000 users provided more than 1.7 million meals for schoolchildren in the southern African country of Lesotho.

The money coming from Thursday’s global launch of ShareTheMeal will initially be used to support 200,000 Syrian refugee children living in the Zaatari camp in Jordan who participate in the WFP’s school meals program.

“By Christmas, we hope to have gathered enough shared meals, to feed these children for one year,” ShareTheMeal’s head of growth Massimiliano Costa says.

Improvements to hunger and living conditions in refugee camps as well as among Syrian communities is widely viewed as crucial to encouraging Syrians not to embark on risky travel to Europe.

If the app does well, the project will expand to other countries and regions. The WFP is already looking at the numbers. With two billion smartphone users worldwide, that statistic outnumbers the hungry children in the world 20 to 1.

The United Nations’ has set the ambitious goal of ending world hunger by 2023. Perhaps ShareTheMeal is the answer.

– Kara Buckley

Sources: ShareTheMeal, Forbes, Reuters, The Guardian                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Photo: Pixabay