World Hunger is a major global problem.

    Already, at the dawn of the 21st century, 40 million men, women and children (that's roughly 7 Jewish holocausts) perish annually- that's EVERY YEAR- from hunger, starvation, disease and malnutrition. Out of the roughly 100,000-150,000 who die every day around the world, roughly 40,000 of these are children.

    In 1900, there were approximately 1 billion people inhabiting the Earth. Today, in 2003, that number is well over 6 billion- an unprecedented and exponential increase in 100 years of human history.

    China and India, the two most populous nations on the planet (both with well over a billion inhabitants), as well as the poor, undeveloped and developing nations that comprise the continents of Asia, Africa and Latin America, will continue to bear the brunt of world hunger and global starvation. Africa is by far the poorest and least developed continent harboring the poorest of the poor and the most destitute worldwide.

    Today, more than 1 billion people in the world are chronically starving and malnurished. By contrast, the United States throws away 100 billion tons of food a year. Of a total of 6.2 billion people worldwide, roughly 1.2 billion live on less than US$ 1/day. 1.7 billion lack access to clean water. 3 billion live without decent sanitation.

    Solving and ending world hunger and global starvation will require alot. First and foremost must be the immediate cessation of a nearly US$ 1 trillion dollar global military budget. Funds instead must be re-directed towards creating healthy, organic, largely vegetarian lifestyles and solutions.

    Sustainable ecological/economic development with heavy emphasis on recycling, protecting and preserving local, regional and global environmental resources must become paramount. Green businesses that promote care, compassion and nuturance rather than greed, exploitation and profit, are also an important factor in transforming our global society into one that can survive the 21st century.

    The continuing corporate/commercial "green revolution" and the introduction of genetically engineered foods will only further harm the environment in the long term as well as exacerbate the non-sustainability factor and drastically undermine the prospect of feeding the world's poor and hungry in the immediate years and decades to come.

    Currently, there is enough food grown on the planet to provide every single man, woman and child with approximately 3500 calories of nutrition per day (a normal healthy diet takes in between 2000- 2500 calories per day). Feeding the world is attainable if given the will and the priority of the peoples and nations to make it so. An evolving/advanced world civilization will REQUIRE that feeding its people become a high priority goal to be met and attained.

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Steve Jones
P.O. Box 1574
Mt Shasta, California 96067
USA

E-mail: aldebaran775@yahoo.com

SOURCES

1. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy
398 60th St, Oakland, California 94618 USA
Website: Food First

2. The Hunger Project
15 E. 26th St, New York, New York 10010 USA
Website: The Hunger Project

3. World Food Summit
c/o Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
The United Nations, 777 UN Plaza, New York, New York 10017 USA
Website: World Food Summit

4. Rich Vs. Poor Statistics
Website: http://www.oocities.org/lionofjudah2021/richpoor.html

5. Bread for the World
50 'F' St. NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20001 USA
Website: Bread for the World

6. The Hunger Site
One Union Square, 600 University St, Suite 1000, Seattle, Washington 98101 USA
Website: The Hunger Site

7. World Food Programme
Via C.G. Viola 68, Parco dei Medici, 00148 Rome Italy, European Union
Website: World Food Programme

8. Oxfam International
266 Banbury Rd- #20, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX2 7DL, European Union
Website: Oxfam International

9. Center for Sustainable Villages
163 E. Main St, Ashland, Oregon 97520 USA
Website: Center for Sustainable Villages

10. Worldwatch Institute
1776 Massachussetts Ave- NW, Washington, DC 20036 USA
Website: World Watch Institute

11. Diet for a New World
Website: http://www.oocities.org/celestiallight721/diet.html

12. Food Not Bombs
P.O. Box 744, Tuscon, Arizona 85702 USA
Website: Food Not Bombs

13. The Great Holocaust
Website: The Great Holocaust

14. Book- Earth in the Balance, by Vice President Al Gore/USA
Website: http://www.amazon.com

15. Strategic Environment Initiative (SEI)/Mission to Planet Earth
Website: http://www.oocities.org/sapphire2029/sei.html

16. European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO)
c/o European Commission, B-1049 Brussels Belgium, European Union
Website: European Union ECHO site