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HagiaSophia
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Hunger remains an enormous problem worldwide, says the annual report of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
The new FAO report, entitled “State of Food Insecurity in the World,” states that although the percentage of people suffering from hunger is decreasing, the absolute number of victims is increasing.
Between 2000 and 2002, 852 million people suffered hunger, including 815 million in developing countries.
The main causes of death, in countries where the situation is deteriorating, are wars and the spread of malaria and AIDS, which worsen the chronic state of malnutrition.
To better understand the enormity of the phenomenon, ZENIT interviewed Riccardo Cascioli, president of the European Center of Studies on the Environment, Population and Development.
Q: The FAO report speaks of millions of dead every year due to hunger and malnourishment, and yet Europe has set limits to food production. How do you explain this paradox?
Cascioli: This is certainly a “scandalous” paradox which cannot leave us indifferent. At the same time, however, we must beware of the demagogy of those who say that it is enough to redistribute food to resolve all the problems.
The sending of foodstuffs from Europe to the Third World is useful and necessary only for emergencies; otherwise, it becomes harmful welfarism.
Many factors contribute to the situation of so many peoples. For example, it is interesting to note that the FAO report states that the worst food crises are caused by conflicts which make all development impossible. However, above all, there must be reflection on the productive capacity of poor countries.
A fact that speaks for itself, for instance, is that in Italy the production of rice per hectare varies from 70 to 85 quintals, in Africa from 4 to 5.
The ILO [International Labor Organization] report published on December 7 stresses this very problem: There are 550 million workers in the Third World who live on less than $1 a day; that is, their work produces very little.
Here is the point. It is a problem of global development that entails economic, social and political aspects – but, I would say, above all, cultural, because efficiency and productivity depend ultimately on the meaning given to work and to the person.
Code: ZE04121323
Date: 2004-12-13
Getting to the Root of Poverty and AIDS
The new FAO report, entitled “State of Food Insecurity in the World,” states that although the percentage of people suffering from hunger is decreasing, the absolute number of victims is increasing.
Between 2000 and 2002, 852 million people suffered hunger, including 815 million in developing countries.
The main causes of death, in countries where the situation is deteriorating, are wars and the spread of malaria and AIDS, which worsen the chronic state of malnutrition.
To better understand the enormity of the phenomenon, ZENIT interviewed Riccardo Cascioli, president of the European Center of Studies on the Environment, Population and Development.
Q: The FAO report speaks of millions of dead every year due to hunger and malnourishment, and yet Europe has set limits to food production. How do you explain this paradox?
Cascioli: This is certainly a “scandalous” paradox which cannot leave us indifferent. At the same time, however, we must beware of the demagogy of those who say that it is enough to redistribute food to resolve all the problems.
The sending of foodstuffs from Europe to the Third World is useful and necessary only for emergencies; otherwise, it becomes harmful welfarism.
Many factors contribute to the situation of so many peoples. For example, it is interesting to note that the FAO report states that the worst food crises are caused by conflicts which make all development impossible. However, above all, there must be reflection on the productive capacity of poor countries.
A fact that speaks for itself, for instance, is that in Italy the production of rice per hectare varies from 70 to 85 quintals, in Africa from 4 to 5.
The ILO [International Labor Organization] report published on December 7 stresses this very problem: There are 550 million workers in the Third World who live on less than $1 a day; that is, their work produces very little.
Here is the point. It is a problem of global development that entails economic, social and political aspects – but, I would say, above all, cultural, because efficiency and productivity depend ultimately on the meaning given to work and to the person.
Code: ZE04121323
Date: 2004-12-13
Getting to the Root of Poverty and AIDS