Inequality+at+its+most+basic+-+A+billion+hungry+people

Karl Stone n6366155 Tutor: Judith Meiklejohn ** The Artefact: ** (Click for larger image  The above artefact is an artwork by American artist Candy Chang. This piece is titled ‘Next Meal Unknown’ and highlights the issue of global food insecurity. Candy Chang designed this piece for an American showcase called ‘Poster Offensive’, which seeks to use posters as a medium to critique political and social issues. This poster depicts a banana, a simple and easily-identifiable food, being divided into increasingly smaller rations on each day of the week. The text in the lower right corner exemplifies the issue at hand: over a billion people in the world don’t know if they have enough to eat this week.  ** Public Health Issue: ** The artefact highlights what is arguably one of the most significant public health issues globally in contemporary society. Access to clean, safe and nutritious food is not only a basic human right, but also essential for healthy living. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (2013) define food security as: “//when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life//”. However, food insecurity today affects a record number of people, with clear links between undernourishment and a low level of food security (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2012). A number of authors have suggested that in order to address these inequalities, a reduction in meat consumption worldwide is necessary. This page will explore the relevant literature for evidence and attempt to analyse this claim with regard to social theory. Figure 1 illustrates the context of global food security.


 * Figure 1: Food security risk by country, 2013. **

** Literature Review: ** // "Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." // - Albert Einstein A review of the relevant and contemporary literature was conducted in order to better understand the context of global food security and its relationship to meat consumption. As food security is an issue that relies on several long-term trends of supply and demand, peer-reviewed articles from the previous decade were utilised and those outside this timeframe were used for background research. In undertaking this literature review, two key themes emerged. The first is the concept of a current global food security crisis, driven by rising prices of grains, oilseeds and cereals. The second key theme is the relationship between global food security and rising meat consumption, and the question of feeding an ever-increasing global population.

A food security crisis is commonly discussed in the literature and is well-documented by The World Bank under the //Food Price Watch// project (The World Bank, 2013). Figure 2 illustrates price rises since 2010 in grains, fats and oils and foods. Wies (2013) explains that in the period from 2006-2008, prices of grains, oilseeds and cooking oils spiked dramatically. The direct effect of this was to cause the number of malnourished people globally to jump from around 800-900 million to over one billion people, likely due to an inability to afford basic foods, as it is the world’s poorest people who are most susceptible to food insecurity due to price volatility (Hajkowicz, 2012). Following a short plateau and stabilisation in 2008, prices spiked once again from 2009-2012, perpetuating a global food crisis (Wies, 2013). Hajkowicz et al. (2012) concur, arguing that global food prices have continually become more volatile, citing dramatic price hikes in both 2008 and 2011. It has been suggested that the cause of these rapid price increases is an increased global demand for meat, as the need of farmers to feed increasing numbers of livestock caused demand pressures on the global market for grains and oils. (Weis, 2013, Hajokowicz et al.,2012, Yates-Doeer, 2012 and Powledge, 2012). Powledge (2012) suggests that the populations of China and India bear the majority of the responsibility to this due to their increases in individual wealth in recent years. A growing middle-class in these countries, which together comprise over one third of the global population, have experienced increases in individual wealth and tastes have changed accordingly, meaning those who may previously have lived off staples such as rice and beans are now able to afford, beef, poultry and fish.


 * Figure 2: World Bank Food Price Index **

Note: The Food Price Index weighs export prices of a variety of food commodities around the world in nominal U.S. dollar prices, 2005 = 100.

This increased demand for meat in countries such as China and India, combined with the existing demand from Western nations (which is also increasing), has provided evidence of the direct relationship between global food security and meat consumption. Within the literature, a number of authors assert this relationship. Wies (2013) describes rising global meat consumption as an ‘inescapable’ aspect of the current global food crisis, while de Boer and Aiking (2011) state that rapid growth in industrialized animal production will have consequences for global food security. The primary cause of this is the inefficiency of producing animal-based protein, particularly beef (Pelletier, Tyedmers, & Vitousek, 2010). Cattle consume 6kg of plant-based proteins per kilogram of meat produced (de Boer, Helms and Aiking, 2006), while pigs are even more inefficient, consuming 7kg of feed to produce 1kg of meat (Helms, 2004). However, it should be noted that pig feed is often comprised of food waste products (such as used cooking oils and vegetable peels) that would otherwise be disposed of. This inefficiency means that the global demand for meat, and therefore for livestock, re-appropriates whole foods from feeding a large number of people directly to feeding a much smaller number of people indirectly. Due to the limited supply and rising demand, price increases then cause the large number of people to be unable to afford these whole foods in adequate quantities. Water used in the production of animal- based protein is similarly inefficient. Approximately 12,000 litres of water are required per kilogram of beef production, and approximately 3,200 litres per kilogram of chicken production (Hennning, 2011). Water use has far-reaching implications for global food security, particularly in a future of climate change and uncertain weather conditions (Henning, 2011).

Due to these consumption rates of livestock animals, in theory enough food is grown to feed the global population currently and into the future (Helms, 2004). The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization states in their 2009 report ‘//How to feed the world in 2050//’ that more food than the global population requires is already produced. With this in mind, the cause of hunger cannot be a limited supply, but rather problems of structure (Shepherd, 2012). Food markets are structured to maximise profit, which skews distribution and lowers accessibility for people of lower incomes (Shepherd, 2012). Furthermore, Salonen and Helne (2012) argue that a global transition to vegetarianism would theoretically support a population of approximately ten billion people at the UN-recommended amount of 2,350 calories per day by freeing up one third of the total harvest of cereals and leguminous grains.

The general consensus within the literature reviewed appears to support, at least theoretically, a transition to higher consumption of plant-based proteins globally. It is evident from the literature that global food security is currently in crisis, and that it is the world’s poorest people who are suffering most from poor access to food resources. The practical feasibility of a transition to more plant-based diets globally is only briefly discussed in the literature, as a number of barriers are present. These include consumer attitudes to plant-based diets, issues of geographic distribution of food supplies and the economic effects of a reduction in the demand, and price, for grains, oilseeds and cereals. Perhaps the strongest point of concurrence within the literature is the need to address growing issues of global food insecurity and the wealth inequalities that these issues stem from. However, at the time of writing it appears that methods to increase food security globally are primarily theoretical in their approach. ** Cultural and Social Analysis: ** The debate on veganism and vegetarianism often takes place from the animal rights and ethical perspective, where animals should be afforded the same rights and moral standing as human being (Vinnari & Tapio, 2009) However, we can see in the relevant literature that the consumption of meat can present in negative impacts on the quality of life of our fellow homo sapiens. In Peter Singer’s well-known 1971 //essay Famine, Affluence, and Morality//, Singer proposes that living comfortably and in affluence is morally indefensible while others live malnourished and starving. Singer rejects the concept of ‘our fair share’, and argues that if it is within our power to help our fellow man, and does not require the sacrifice of anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it. Unfortunately, this structure-based approach has largely been rejected in mainstream discourses, in favour of a more agency-based approach of free will and each individual doing just their ‘fair share’. Phillip Pettit’s 1997 argument that moral obligation is shared amongst all the individuals able to undertake a particular action perhaps best embodies the current mainstream ideology (Baron, Petitt & Slote, 1997). For example, if a person is one of millions who are able to donate to a refugee charity, the weight of the moral obligation to do so is shared amongst the millions of people. Similarly, this attitude affords the individual the ability to consume meat and morally reject any obligation not to, based on the need to help others. According to Shepherd (2012), some of the key problems associated with the moral standing of global food security stem from the UN FAO’s standing definition of food security, mentioned earlier on this page, and its failure to grasp the agency-based approach of contemporary morality. Shepherd argues that the definition casts food security as primarily an economic problem, a field in which profit is often considered morally justifiable. The FAO definition also relies on a structure-based approach that contradicts the economic framing of the issue, as food currently exists as a commodity in a free-market economy, which is rooted in agency. Global food security, as the name suggests, is an issue that affects everyone on earth. Unfortunately, it is the world’s poorest and most impoverished people who are affected the most. It is perhaps the biggest public health issue of contemporary society and is certain to increase in importance over the next decade. Public health intervention in this area has traditionally focused on the alleviation of poverty (WHO, 2013 & FAO, 2013), which often is limited to foreign aid or empowering impoverished people within the current economic paradigm. Based on the analysis presented on this page, public health intervention based on nutritional needs and education shows potential to decrease meat consumption to some degree. Unfortunately, whether or not it is truly possible to achieve global food security with the current economic demands for cheap food sold at maximum profit remains to be seen.

** Analysis of the Artefact and Reflections: ** At first, it may seem that the relationship of the artefact to meat consumption is unclear. However, in undertaking this assessment task, I sought to better understand the global challenges to overcoming food insecurity. I believe that these challenges are exactly what the artefact represents. The challenge of feeding an ever-increasing global population will likely be the biggest humanitarian issue of the next several decades, as we continue to see the downside of economic growth in rapidly industrializing countries such as India and China. The sad fact that over a billion people worldwide go hungry in each week is a sign that the allocation of resources that currently exists is unsustainable. Almost ironically, this global food security crisis is the perfect catalyst to force governments, industries and consumers to look to more sustainable methods of resource consumption. I believe also that the artefact represents an opportunity – an opportunity to look elsewhere for alternate methods of resource consumption and to act upon these, such as the transition to a diet heavier in plant-based protein. Personally, I adopted a vegetarian diet several years ago after reading about the implications of eating animal-based protein for global poverty. While I accept that a vegetarian diet may not be suited to everyone’s needs and tastes, I believe vegetarianism is very poorly marketed and represented to consumers, particularly in Australia where we have a powerful meat industry. I believe the major consumer and market-based barriers to increasing vegetarian diets could be at the least lessened, if not removed, with improved education on this issue. Any impact this may have into the future is yet to be determined, but global population looks certain to continue rapidly expanding, while the planets’ resources remain finite.

** List of References: ** Aiking, H. (2011). Future protein supply. //Trends in Food Science & Technology, 22//(2), 112-120. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2010.04.005 Allen, M. W., Wilson, M., Ng, S. H., & Dunne, M. (2000). Values and beliefs of vegetarians and omnivores. //The Journal of Social Psychology, 140//(4), 405-422. doi:10.1080/00224540009600481

Baron, M., Pettit, P., & Slote, M. A. (1997). Three methods of ethics: A debate.

Boland, M., Hendriks, W., Rae, A., Vereijken, J., Meuwissen, M., Fischer, A.,. . . Moughan, P. (2013). The future supply of animal-derived protein for human consumption. //Trends in Food Science & Technology, 29//(1), 62-73. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2012.07.002

de Bakker, E., & Dagevos, H. (2012). Reducing meat consumption in Today’s consumer society: Questioning the citizen-consumer gap. //Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 25//(6), 877-894. doi:10.1007/s10806-011-9345-z

de Boer, J., & Aiking, H. (2011). On the merits of plant-based proteins for global food security: Marrying macro and micro perspectives. //Ecological Economics, 70//(7), 1259-1265. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2011.03.001

de Boer, J., Helms, M., & Aiking, H. (2006). Protein consumption and sustainability: Diet diversity in EU-15. //Ecological Economics, 59//(3), 267-274. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.10.011

Economist Intelligence Unit. (2012). //Global Food Security Index: Country Profile.// Retrieved from []

Hajkowicz, S., Negra, C., Barnett, P., Clark, M., Harch, B., & Keating, B. (2012). Food price volatility and hunger alleviation - can cannes work? //Agriculture and Food Security, 1//(1), 8-8. doi:10.1186/2048-7010-1-8

Henning, B. (2011). Standing in livestock's ‘Long shadow’: The ethics of eating meat on a small planet. //Ethics & the Environment, 16//(2), 63-93. doi:10.2979/ethicsenviro.16.2.63

Martine Helms. (2004). Food sustainability, food security and the environment. //British Food Journal, 106//(5), 380-387. doi:10.1108/00070700410531606

Pelletier, N., Tyedmers, P., & Vitousek, P. M. (2010). Forecasting potential global environmental costs of livestock production 2000–2050. //Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107//(43), 18371-18374. doi:10.1073/pnas.1004659107

Powledge, F. (2010). Food, hunger, and insecurity. //Bioscience, 60//(4), 260-265. doi:10.1525/bio.2010.60.4.3

Salonen, A. & Helne, T. (2012). Vegetarian diets: A way towards a sustainable society. //Journal of Sustainable Development, 5//(6), 10.

Shepherd, B. (2012). Thinking critically about food security. //Security Dialogue, 43//(3), 195-212. doi:10.1177/0967010612443724

Singer, P. (1972). Famine, affluence, and morality. //Philosophy & Public Affairs, 1//(3), 229-243.

The World Bank. (2013). //Food Price Watch.// Retrieved from @http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/03/17630502/food-price-watch

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. (2009). //How to Feed the World in 2050.// Retrieved from []

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. (2013). //The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2013.// Retrieved from []

Vinnari, M., & Tapio, P. (2009). Future images of meat consumption in 2030. //Futures, 41//(5), 269-278. doi:10.1016/j.futures.2008.11.014

Weis, T. (2013). The meat of the global food crisis. //Journal of Peasant Studies, 40//(1), 65-85. doi:10.1080/03066150.2012.752357

World Health Organization. (2013). //Food Security.// Retrieved from[]

Yates‐Doerr, E. (2012). Meeting the demand for meat? //Anthropology Today, 28//(1), 11-15. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8322.2012.00849.x


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