ABSTRACT
If the world’s food production was distributed so that every person had an equal share, nobody would be left starving. Yet there are more people starving in the world today than ever before in the history of humankind. Recent United Nations estimates refer to over 1,000 million people living on the very edge of existence, of which nearly three-quarters live in rural areas (World Bank, 2000). UNICEF and UNDP calculate that 800 million children globally are undernourished, and that two billion people (one-third of the world’s population) exhibit effects of poor diet (UNICEF, 1998). These problems reflect both macro-nutrient (protein, carbohydrates and fats) and micro-nutrient deficiencies. This growing magnitude of human hunger is occurring despite continuing increases in world food production. Hence factors affecting both food distribution and production are central to the location and extent of hunger and starvation (Abraham, 1991; Evans, 1998; Smil, 2000; Young, 1996). This chapter briefly outlines the magnitude of the problem before considering the analysis of attempted ‘solutions’, drawing on recent work by agricultural and other geographers, in particular on so-called ‘Green Revolution’ packages tied closely to global interests of countries and businesses based in the Developed World, and various types of land reforms, usually representing one form of ‘indigenous’ solution to both low productivity and social inequalities.
