Food Distribution

1
Food Distribution

• Carson Hoffacker
• Jasdeep Mangat
• Patrick Crotty
• Ranil Ignatius

2
World Facts

• Already at over 6 billion people, the global
  population is increasing rapidly and creating a
  serious strain on food production and
  distribution.
• In an attempt to expand our usable farm land,
  massive areas are being deforested, causing soil
  erosion and flooding.
• Overuse of lands that are just barely suitable
  for growth is turning what were once fields into
  deserts, and eliminating important crop and
  pasture land.

3
World Facts

• Misuse of irrigation water is leading to a
  buildup of harmful salt deposits on what used to
  be fertile crop land, reducing the total
  available farming land
• Increased supplies and declining prices for farm
  products mean more food for the poor, it also
  makes smaller farms less feasible, and reduces
  the standard of living for those operation
  smaller farms.
• As we have seen in previous presentations,
  livestock and crops are becoming increasingly
  genetically uniform, presenting new risks to
  farmers.

4
World Facts

• Many of the emergencies we face in the modern
  world such as famine, crop failure, floods,
  drought and war, are at least partially a result
  of changes man made to the environment.
• The major cause of world famine used to be
  massive crop failure, today it is caused by poor
  management and government regulations.
• In 2002, we have half the number of farmers we
  did in 1977.

5
World Facts

• Small farmers have been pushed out in the
  interest of sanitation, as only larger producers
  can afford expensive sanitation technology. The
  result has been the removal of germs, and the
  addition of poisons used in large scale farming

6
Agrarian Farming

• Traditional Farming
• High crop diversity
• Sustains health of the land
• Farms based on the specific location of the farm
• Understands limited resources (land, plants,
  animals, weather, water)
• Live within the limits

7
Industrialized Farming

• Modern Farming, very corporate
• Heavy on technology
• Looks at farming as a form of mining
• Very abusive towards land. Farms the American
  West like it farms the American West like it
  farms India
• Farms are abandoned when costs of maintaining the
  farm is more than profits
• No crop diversity

8
Case Study DDT

• DDT stand for dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane
• Insecticidal properties discovered in 1942,
  founder received Nobel Prize for his discovery
• Was hailed as the savior of mankind
• Effects the nervous system of insects and
  mammals. Causes muscle spasms, which may lead to
  death
• DDT remains in its toxic state for years, one
  spray on crops could last many seasons
• From 1945-1955 DDT production increased from 125
  million pounds to 600 million pounds.

9
Case Study DDT

• DDT is not metabolized rapidly by animals
  instead, it is deposited and stored in the fatty
  tissues.
• The half-life of DDT is about eight years, it
  takes about eight years for an animal to
  metabolize half of the amount it assimilates.
• Birds exposed to DDT by eating infected insects
  had trouble reproducing, egg shells were thin
• This caused the eagle population to plummet
• US banned DDT in 1973, still in use in some other
  countries

10
Professional Issues

• Farmers make more money by using pesticides
  increasing crop output
• By using more pesticides they are putting the
  health of farmers and the environment at risk

11
Legal Issues

• When new pesticides are developed the long term
  effects are hard to determine
• Just because it is legal doesnt mean its safe
• New pesticides are developed constantly, makes
  them difficult to regulate because the law can
  not keep up with the private sector

12
Stakeholders

• People who eat food
• Farmers
• Insects
• Animals
• Environment

13
Possible Actions

• Agrarian Organic farming
• Keep Industrialized farming

14
Utilitarian Perspective

• Pros
• -Allows the small farm to profit
• -No chemicals in consumer foods
• -Better for land, can sustain a farm for longer
• Cons
• -Organic farming makes crops more expensive
• -Less crop output

15
Rights Perspective

• Right for people to eat uncontaminated food
• Right for farmers to be able to profit
• Right for farmers to own farm land
• Right for everyone to be able to afford food

16
Fairness Perspective

• Agrarian
• Healthier work environment
• Healthier food
• Higher costs
• Industrialized
• More food
• More affordable
• Fewer jobs
• Food with chemicals

17
Common Good

• Agrarian
• Land is reusable
• Greater crop diversity
• Crops are healthier to eat
• Better for the environment
• Helps the small farm
• Farms each area uniquely according to the
  environment
• Industrialized
• Can feed more people at a lower cost

18
Final Decision

• We should downsize industrial farming and
  encourage organic alternatives

19
U.S. Hunger Facts

• 33 million people, including 13 million children,
  live in households that experience a risk of
  hunger.
• 7.3 of US households are at risk of hunger they
  have lower quality diets, or resort to seeking
  emergency food because they cannot afford the
  food they need. This includes 9.9 million
  children.
• Preschool and school age children who experience
  severe hunger have higher levels of illness,
  anxiety and depression, and behavior problems
  when compared with normal children.

20
International Hunger Facts

• More than 840 million people in the world are
  malnourished. More than 153 million of them are
  under the age of 5.
• 6 million children under the age of 5 die each
  year as a result of hunger.
• Children who are affected by hunger prevent
  significantly lower on math and language
  achievement than do well nourished children.
• In developing countries 91 children out of a 1000
  die before their 5th birthday, as compared to the
  U.S. where only 8 would die.
• 23 children die every minute from hunger
• Americans spend more on pet food each than it
  would cost to feed the starving people in the
  world.

21
CASE STUDY ETHIOPIA
22
Facts

• Half of Ethiopia's children under the age of five
  are malnourished.
• It is estimated that the Ethiopian population
  will rise in the next twenty years from
  sixty-three million to one hundred million.
• 17.2 of kids in Ethiopia die before they reach
  the age of five.

23
Background

• In 2002, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
  said that Ethiopia could undergo a famine that is
  worse than the one in 1984, which killed almost
  one million people.
• Ethiopia undergoes frequent droughts and it
  doesnt have the infrastructure to save a
  sufficient amount of water when the rain does
  fall. In most years, they fail to supply enough
  water to make sure there is a sufficient harvest.

24
Background Cont.

• Most years, Ethiopia has to depend on aid from
  other countries to feed their people.
• In 2002, the prime minister said that six million
  people are in immediate need of aid. Also
  mentioned was that that number could increase to
  about 15 million if they didnt receive help from
  other countries.

25
Background Cont.

• Government officials state that 15 percent of the
  October/November 2002 harvest was destroyed
  because of severe drought conditions. This
  results in the failure of root vegetables and
  green crops, and families that depend on
  subsistence farming will lack food, and also
  seeds for replanting in the upcoming year.

26
What is being done to help the fight against
hunger?

• Early warning network- This is a program that was
  established by the United States. It basically
  keeps track of the food situation in
  underprivileged countries.
• This network has played a huge role in keeping
  track of Ethiopias food crisis and has helped
  the country to be more alert to upcoming rain
  shortfalls.
• Prime Minister Meles Zenawi warns developed
  countries that they should not underestimate a
  drought just because there havent been pictures
  on television with skeletal figures.

27
What is being done to help the fight against
hunger? Cont.

• Food for the Hungry, an organization, has made a
  three-year program that has assisted over 42,000
  people. This program helps in crop production,
  water supply, and environment rehabilitation.
• Food for the Hungry has also distributed food to
  over 474,000 people in Ethiopia.
• World Vision, CARE and Catholic Relief Services
  are working together on a project funded by a
  100 million U.S. grant to deliver food and
  assistance to eight high-risk countries in
  southern Africa, including Ethiopia.

28
Professional Issues

• Food hunger in Ethiopia means a loss for their
  economy.
• Because Ethiopia doesnt have the proper
  infrastructure to keep a well rounded
  environment, many Ethiopians will lose the jobs
  they have in the agricultural industry.
• Because the world is so interconnected today,
  reducing hunger in the world will help US
  interests. It will make for political stability,
  and it will create more markets for US exports.

29
Legal/Policy Issues

• There is no such law that states that stable
  international countries have to help those in
  need.
• Some argue that it is not the responsibility of
  countries like the US to take care of the hungry
  in other parts of the world. They believe it is
  the responsibility of their own governments.

30
Ethical Issues

• Should a stable country help out another country
  that is suffering from food hunger? Is it their
  duty to do so?
• If so, then how much do you go to help them out?
  Do you just send food or do you give them money
  or do you try and resolve the problem?

31
Stakeholders

• Any country that is suffering from food hunger.
• The countries that have the resources to help the
  needy.
• Basically, the whole world.

32
Possible Actions

• Developed countries that have the proper
  resources to help food hunger should do
  everything they can to help. They shouldnt just
  send food and money to the countries. They
  should also try and resolve the problem, if it is
  something that can be resolved. That way, that
  country will have the ability to be more stable
  in the future.
• The other option is to let the governments of the
  countries in need deal with their own problems.

33
Utilitarian Perspective

• This says that Of any two actions, the most
  ethical one will produce the greatest balance of
  benefits over harms.
• Help with hunger
• Pros
• People in need will get the attention they
  deserve.
• Less people will suffer from malnutrition.
• Children will have the ability for a normal
  upbringing.
• Cons
• Countries that help will have to make room in
  their budget to help others with their situation.
• Some countries may become dependent on others for
  help every time they face a problem.

34
Utilitarian Perspective Cont.

• Let countries deal with food hunger on their own
• Pros
• The countries will learn to solve their own
  problems.
• The government can have more stability if the
  people believe the government can make a positive
  difference.
• Cons
• If the government cannot survive on their own,
  the people will suffer in the end.
• Many could possibly starve from malnutrition.
• Deaths in countries with food hunger could
  possibly increase heavily.

35
Individual Rights/Fairness

• States to Act in ways that respect the dignity
  of other persons by honoring or protecting their
  legitimate moral rights.
• Every individual in this world should have the
  right to a proper meal.
• Many developed countries have enough wealth, so
  they should have a moral responsibility to share
  some of their wealth in order to reduce hunger in
  the rest of the world.
• Many industrialized countries have plenty of
  resources. If they all put their resources
  together, underprivileged individuals could have
  the necessities every human should receive.

36
Common Good

• This principle states, What is ethical is what
  advances the common good.
• As a community, we are morally responsible to
  help those we can.
• Having world hunger is not a good thing. To
  achieve common good, we must think of the needs
  of others and provide whatever we can.

37
Bibliography

• World Hunger Year Innovative Solutions to Hunger
  Poverty. 2003. WHY. 18 Nov. 2003.
  lthttp//www.worldhungeryear.orggt
• Why is Ethiopia Facing Another Famine? 2002. BBC
  News. 16 Nov. 2003. lthttp//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wo
  rld/africa/2440793.stmgt
• Struggling Ethiopia Faces More Hunger. 2000. CNN
  News. 16 Nov. 2003. lthttp//www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD
  /africa/04/11/ethiopia.famine/gt
• Berry, Wendel. The Unsettling of America. 1996.
  Eco Books. 16 Nov. 2003. lthttp//www.ecobooks.com/
  books/outofprint/unsettli.htmgt
• Berry, Wendel. The Agrarian Standard. 2002. Orion
  Online. 16 Nov. 2003. lthttp//www.oriononline.org/
  pages/om/02-3om/Berry.htmlgt
• Ethical Issues in Food and Agriculture. 2001.
  Food and Agriculture Organization. 16 Nov. 2003.
  lthttp//www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/X9601E/X9601E00.HTM
  gt
• Parnes, Robin. How Organic Food Works. 2001. How
  Stuff Works. 16 Nov. 2003. lthttp//home.howstuffwo
  rks.com/organic-food.htmgt