The Uneven Distribution of Food Supplies in the More Developed Countries and Less Developed Countries
Overall, the food produced should be sufficient to feed the global
population, however in reality this cannot be achieved due to the
uneven distribution of resources, thus food supplies. In many less
developed countries (LDCs in short), such as Ethiopia in North Africa,
western part of China in particular, the problem of famine is still
their major problem to cope with; whereas in some more developed
countries (MDCs in short), such as USA, they food production are in
surplus which are even sufficient for large amount of export.
Physical factors are the dominant factors which contribute to the
uneven distribution of food supplies in the world. The less developed
countries usually locates at latitudes with extreme climate, therefore
the soil are usually infertile and agriculture cultivation is
hindered. In semi desert area for examples, the annual precipitation
is generally lower than 500mm which is not sufficient for many types
of crops. The condition is even worse in true desert area, which
annual precipitation is lower than 250mm or even 100mm, like in Sahara
Desert in Africa. The soil presence is aridisol, which is infertile
with low organic content, low cation carrying capacity and moisture
content. Therefore the land soil carrying capacity is very low and
cannot handle intensive agriculture activities.
In these areas, huge scale of farming is impossible as there is a lack
of sufficient and reliable water sources, faming can be practiced
along the river, oasis farming and marginal farming in small scales at
desert margin. As...
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...e to decrease in fertility can be
reduced.
Government or companies in MDCs can invest capital in the LDCs, such
as large scale irrigation project and the agricultural industry. Some
of the transnational companies in the MDCs invested in the plantation
agriculture of the LDCs to produce Cacao, Sugar cane, rubber in
tropical area, Brazil for example. By investing, the employment rate
and income can be raised, thus they would have more capital in buying
food or improve their own farming activities.
The MDCs may also invest in their large scale irrigation and earn
money from the HEP electricity generation. The LDCs can in turn
benefited from the stable water supple for farming, prevent flooding
and minimize the loss in drought, with increase in production yields,
the occurrence of famine may likely to be decreased.
Walsh, Bryan. “America’s Food Crisis and How to Fix It.” Time, Vol. 174, Is. 8, p. 30-37. 31
The United States Department of Agriculture defines food unsecurity as the availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food, or the ability to acquire such food, is limited or uncertain for a household. Food insecurity also does not always mean that the household has nothing to eat. More simply stated it is the struggle to provide nutritional food for ones family and/or self. The people that suffer from food insecurity are not all living below the poverty line. In 2012 49.0 million people were considered food insecure in the United States of those 46.5 million were in poverty (Hunger & Poverty Statistics, 2012). For some individual’s food insecurity is only a temporary situation for others it maybe for extended period. Food insecurity due temporary situation such as unemployment, divorce, major medical or illness can be become more long term. The vast majority of these are families with children.
For most Americans, the word poverty means insufficient access to to housing, clothing and nutritious food that meet their needs for a healthy life. A consequence of poverty is a low socioeconomic status that leads to being exposed to poor nutrition. Since food and dietary choices are influenced by income, poverty and nutrition go hand in hand. There are many important factors that threaten the nutritional status of poor people. The number one factor is not having enough money to buy food of good quality and quantity. Not having enough money can have a profound impact on the diets of low-income people. Limited financial resources may force low income people to make difficult decisions about what kind and how much food to buy. Limited financial resources often lead to food insecurity. According to Gundersen, Waxman, Engelhard, and Brown (2011) food insecurity is the lack of access to healthy food in quantity or quality.
Low socio-economic status and its correlates, such as lower education, poverty, and poor health, affect our society as a whole. Inequities in wealth distribution, resource distribution, and quality of life are increasing in the United States and globally. There are many ways to fight this reality, and some a far simpler and more practically applied than others. One smart and simple change may be adapted immediately. It has the possibility to drastically impact the quality of life with those of lower socio-economic status. The proposed change would be to alter the list of foods covered in Americas supplemental nutritional assistance program ( or SNAP), as it could dramatically impact the health of those most likely to suffer from heart disease which is currently the leading cause of death in the United states (AHA). Currently “SNAP benefits can be used to purchase all food products, not including: beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes, or tobacco; any nonfood items; vitamins and medicines; foods that will be eaten in the store; or hot foods” (snap.org). The S.N.A.P. program should instead, be only available for use when paying for healthy foods because this policy change would provide better nutritional, medical and economic value to the U.S.
Puthnam J.J. and Allshore J.E. (1999). Food consumption prices and expenditures, 1970-1997. Food and Rural EACONOMIC Division, Economic Research Service, USDA Statiscal Bulletin 965
In the United States, Food is one of the basic needs of life.We tend to spend tons of money every year to buy food. Consuming food reflects America’s culture in the United States. In America, Fast food is a way to enjoy delicious food made with sugar, fat and salt. It’s impossible to back away from eating good tasting food. Unfortunately, this is leading to major destruction. In the human life, food procurement, preparation, and consumption have devoted to an art form.Spite the terms of “America has a food problem,” it shows that our nation is unable to produce and supply safe, nutritious food in a way where it sustains our global population. Health Issues are a result of over consumption, which lead to portion sizes, and food production.
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