Economics of Hunger

1
Economics of Hunger
Hunger is a word utilized in a multi-dimensional
context. In the previous century, people had
short-lived lives due to the persistence of
hunger and the dearth of adequate food for
sustenance. As per the definition of the World
Food Programme, Undernourishment refers to the
situation in which the person is unable to intake
minimum calories to carry out basic psychological
requirements. Malnutrition is the inability to
consume adequate or sufficient amounts of
proteins and other nutrients. As far as economics
is concerned, the emerging economies and
other developing nation states must focus on
adopting a more sustainable system for the
production as well as the distribution of food.
Food systems have evolved unsustainably and have
led to the creation of disharmonies such
as malnutrition, obesity, outbreak of pandemic
and zoonotic scares. It was declared in October
of 2021 that zoonotic diseases could spread
faster than ever. The realization of the true
cost of food will enable the policy makers
to price in the effects of climate change,
environmental degradation as well as the health
conditions such as malnutrition and obesity on
productivity. In the current scenario, it is
observed that Climate Change, outbreak of the
pandemic as well as inflation has dramatically
unfolded the gate to food shortage. The price of
food commodities are soaring and can be
effectively witnessed through the inflated price
of rice, which is currently touching 12 month
highs. The inflation of food prices are
contributed by the increment in the price of
energy as well as the fertilizers. It can be
analyzed that the sudden shoot up was also due
to the Russia-Ukraine War. Several countries
across the world have banned the exports,
foreseeing the acute food shortage in
2023. Original Source Economics of Hunger