9' Hunger as an Ethical Issue

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9. Hunger as an Ethical Issue

• Larry D. Sanders
• Spring 2002

Dept. of Ag Economics Oklahoma State
University
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INTRODUCTION

• Purpose
• to understand ethical issues related to hunger
• Learning Objectives
• 1. To become aware of population and hunger
  trends.
• 2. To understand the key ethical
  issues/questions related
• to hunger and connections to population
  growth.

3
Food Nutrition/Health Policy Options

• Education
• Labelling
• Food Assistance
• Food Stamps
• Food Distribution Programs
• School Lunch Programs
• WIC
• Welfare Reform
• Free Market

4
World Hunger

• AREA POPULATION FOOD
• ASIA 40 15
• AFRICA 10 5
• L. AMERICA 10 10
• EUROPE 25 45
• N. AMERICA 10 25
• OTHER 5 1

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World Hunger (cont.)

• Each minute 28 humans die from hunger
  malnutrition
• 21 are children
• Equals a Hiroshima every 3 days
• Chronic Malnutrition 10 of World Population

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World Hunger (cont.)

• 2 x Deaths in All Wars Past 150 yrs Hunger
  Deaths in Past 5 yrs
• 250,000 infants/small childrean die each week
  from diet-related, easily preventable diseases
• Thousands more--diet-related blindness physical
  mental retardation

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HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH, ESTIMATED PROJECTED
(3 Million BC-2036)
8000 BC 5-10 MIL. 5000 BC 20 MIL 3000 BC 50
MIL. 1400 BC 100 MIL. 0 200 MIL. 1200 400
MIL. 1700 800 MIL. 1900 1.5 BIL. 1960 3
BIL. 1996 6 BIL. 2036-50 11-12 BIL???
MILLION HUMANS
YEAR
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World Hunger (cont.)

• Not a food production problem
• Economics--poverty--is the problem

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World Hunger (cont.)

• Economic development is the key
• Education is the foundation for economic
  development
• But . . .
• What is the carrying capacity of earth?
• What pressures can we expect to worsen?
• Economic?
• Physical?
• Sociopolitical?

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The Tragedy of the Commons Lifeboat Ethics
(Garrett Hardin--VP)

• Common resources (oceans, air, public land) will
  be overused/ exploited
• Price mechanism or property rights necessary to
  ration
• Free food would lead to even greater tragedy
  (larger population crash)
• Carrying capacity important
• Alternative view Lifeboat view (utilitarian)
  forces competitive view (human-human
  human-nonhuman) rather than cooperative view

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Foreign Agricultural AssistanceEthical Issues
(TMR)

• An issue of distributive justice
• Charity?
• Human survival/ decency?
• Strategic measures?
• Emergency assistance vs. Development assistance?

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Some Ethical Questions Is Hunger a Reason
to--

• Legally restrict human reproduction?
• Encourage population control?
• Restrict/eliminate meat consumption or grain for
  animal feed?
• Promote biotechnology to grow more food?
• Sacrifice habitat/species/ ecosystems to grow
  more food?
• Do little/nothing let nature restore a balance?
• Discontinue technological solutions/ health care
  that expand longevity and/or reduce death rates
  and/or increase birth rates?

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More Ethical QuestionsIf we save people from
hunger--

• How do we/they suffer the reduced quality of
  life?
• How do we/they accept the near certain increases
  in crime/violence/war?
• How do we/they handle increased pressures on
  natural resources?
• How do we/they handle increased pressures on
  social infrastructure?
• Can we continue to count on the technological fix?

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Team Exercise

• Using the human population lecture the
  carrying capacity handout Hardins articles
• 1. Discuss the issues of agricultural production
  and natural resource management.
• 2. Consider alternative policy options to address
  these issues.
• 3. Outline/summarize the recommended evolution of
  the social contract with agriculture in the
  next 10-15 years with respect to environmental
  issues.