Hunger

Ok, I decided to outline it anyway. Must be the obsessive/compulsive gene in me. Lol.

Hunger

Hunger in the United States

I Facts
A. Hunger and food insecurity are widespread in the US
B. People living in poverty are especially vulnerable
C. Government and community programs bring some relief
II Defining Hunger in the US
A. Food insufficiency: having too little food
B. Food poverty: hunger resulting from inadequate access to food
C. Food security: access to enough food to support an active and healthy lifestyle
D. Food insecurity: limited or uncertain access to sufficient quantity or quality of food to sustain a healthy and active life.
III Relieving Hunger in the US
A. Federal food assistance programs
1. WIC: (Women, Infants, and Children) is for low income pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and children. (Check vouchers specify healthy foods and exactly what is allowed to be purchased.)
2. School breakfast, lunch programs, and child-care food programs (some provide grants for food in the summer)
3. Meals on wheels and congregate meals (for the elderly, indigent, and handicapped) (Healthy low fat, low sodium foods)
4. Food stamp program (Does not specify healthy food, just food)
B. National Food Recovery Programs
1. Second harvest serves food pantries, emergency shelters, and soup kitchens. (Take blemished foods that aren’t aesthetically pleasing and passes them on.)
2. food banks
C. Community efforts depend on volunteers, concerned citizens, local agencies and churches



World Hunger

I Facts
A. Extreme hunger and poverty are common in developing countries.
B. Natural causes, politics, armed conflicts and government policies have a big impact.
1. During conflicts citizens cannot stay in one place long enough to plant and reap crops.
C. Technology offers some solutions.
D. Overpopulation must also be controlled.
II Food Shortages
A. Political turbulence and government policies during famine affect food problems.
1. Famine is usually man made.
B. Armed conflicts may interfere with humanitarian efforts to get food to people.
C. Natural disaster areas accept food assistance from other countries.
1. In the US we assume assistance is coming immediately, not so in other countries. Compare the slow Katrina response with the super slow tsunami response.


III Malnutrition
A. Affects 850 million people
B. Iron, iodine, and VitA are the nutrients most lacking.
1. Iron is the most common deficiency worldwide.
2. Some places have severe cretinism because of iodine deficiency
C. Protein-kcalorie malnutrition
D. Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) can reverse dehydration.
1. Used worldwide to treat dehydration in children
2. Similar to gatoraid/pedialyte.
3. Salt and water recipe. Sugar is included to help K+ cross cell barrier to hydrate cells.
E. A diminishing food supply is a problem as populations continue to grow.
IV Poverty and Overpopulation
A. Poverty and hunger with more people to feed interrelate to each other.
B. To break this cycle requires:
1. improving the economy
2. providing education
a. education in farming
b. education in food storage
c. education in skills
3. providing health care, and counseling about family planning
C. Population growth leads to hunger and poverty
1. human carrying capacity: the maximum number of people the earth can support
2. increasing rate in developing countries where hunger and poverty already exist
a. In some places children = wealth
b. Hard to change people’s ways of thinking in regard to large families.
D. Hunger and poverty lead to population growth
1. poverty leads to inadequate food and shelter, physical abuse, forced marriages, and prostitution
2. Lack access to reproductive care and family counseling
3. families depend on children to farm the land, carry water, and care for the elderly
4. with high death rates in children, parents may choose to have more children with hopes that some will survive to adulthood
E. Breaking the cycle
1. curbing population growth
2. improvements in living standards
a. health
b. education
3. sharing of resources among groups
a. bartering
4. education becomes a higher priority
a. education for daily survival needs.
b. only 1% of the world population are college educated
V Environmental Degradation and Hunger
A. Environmental limitations in food production
1. soil erosion
2. compaction
3. salinization (adding of salt) caused by:
a. over tillage
b. over irrigation
4. deforestation and desertification (not replacing nutrients in soil)
a. caused by overgrazing
b. desertification is caused by planting the same crops over and over
5. air pollution
a. from the burning of fossil fuels
6. ozone depletion
B. Other limitations in food production
1. irrigation
2. fertilizers (most fertilizer is used on golf courses, not crops)
3. improved genetic strains are reaching their limits
4. harvests are falling short of consumption needs
5. World agriculture produces enough food (grain) to provide each person with 2720 kcal per day.
a. in addition to meat, fruit, and dairy products
6. distribution is a problem
7. population is a problem
VI Solutions
A. Governments, businesses, and all individuals have opportunities to make environmentally conscious choices.
B. Proper choices may help to relieve hunger, improve quality of life, and generate jobs.
C. Sustainable development worldwide:
1. hunger relief
2. population stabilization
3. environmental preservation
4. sustainable resources must be considered
5. Permanently improve the lives of people by helping them to help themselves
VII Progress toward Sustainable Food Production
A. Large agriculture enterprises are among the world’s largest resource users and polluters.
B. Techniques are being studied to employ sustainable agriculture
C. These techniques emphasize careful use of natural processes, computer technology, GPS, and biotechnology
D. Consumers can help by buying locally and eating low in the food chain
1. 1 sack of grain produces1 lb bread
2. 1 ½ sacks of grain produces 1 fish
3. 2 = 1 chicken
4. 3 = 1 hog
5. 7 = 1 cow
VIII Costs of producing food unsustainably
A. resource waste and pollution
1. fishing
a. over fishing and depleted stock
b. fishing is energy intensive
i. using fuel for boats
ii. refrigeration
iii. processing, packing, and transport
c. bioaccumulation of toxins in fish
2. Energy overuse
a. massive fossil fuel usage
b. food industry consumes 20% of all the energy of the nation
IX Sustainable Methods
A. Rotate crops
1. preserve nitrogen in the soil
2. decreases desertification
B. Reduce fertilizer use
1. use animal manure when possible
C. Maintain animal health
1. more resistant to disease
2. less chemicals in manure
D. Plant resistant crops
1. require less pesticides
E. Use irrigation effectively
1. excess irrigation concentrate salts in the soil
F. Use tilling and other precision techniques to control weeds
1. eliminates the use of herbicides