Policies aimed at improving access to food

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Policies aimed at improving access to food

• Text extracted from
• The World Food Problem
• Leathers and Foster, 2004

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Its all about distribution isnt it?

• 2,807 calories of food/day available per person
• Average requirement is 2,350 calories of
  food/day/person
• Could increase 600 calories/day/person
• without increasing production
• Eliminate processing waste
• Eliminate meat

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What if the U.S. reduced meat consumption by 10?

• 102 Calories/day/person reduction in U.S.
• Partially offset by increased meat and grain
  consumption elsewhere
• Price of grain driven down
• Increase in grain offset by reduced production
• Results in increase of 4 calories/person in
  developing world

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Redistribution

• Redistribution policies would require
• Reduction of over-consumption in developed
  countries
• Production maintained at current levels
• Under-consumption must be reversed in developing
  countries
• Targeted to those who are undernourished

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Reducing over-consumption

• Impractical
• Would require huge taxes on food
• Currently
• U.S. consumes 3750 Calories/day/person
• Income 32,350
• 1968
• U.S. consumed 3000 Calories/day/person
• Adjusted income was 17,266
• To return to 3000 Calories
• Would require an income surtax of about 45 plus
  a 4 food tax

Carls Jr. 1 lb burger 1420 Calories
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Productivity

• How can productivity be kept unchanged
• If developed countries lower consumption?
• Government purchase of food required
• By developed countries
• For U.S. to purchase 20 of its farm output
• Would cost 50 billion

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Feeding the undernourished

• Current U.S. foreign aid about 11 billion
• Less than half goes to low-income countries
• Getting food to undernourished a problem
• Especially in a market-oriented system
• Alternatives not very effective
• Central control of production and consumption
• Subsistence agriculture

Subsistence farming, Haiti
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Technology is important

• Should not conclude that
• Halting growth of food production will protect
  natural resources
• Technology to increase food production is
  unnecessary
• Disagrees with Food First
• Need new technologies to
• Increase food productivity
• Protect environment
• Integrated Pest Management
• Low impact tillage
• Drip irrigation
• Need redistribution of food
• Improves nutrition of undernourished
• Requires political will

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