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2002 Letters to the Editor
December, 2002
Dear Editor,
I noticed [the letter below] concerning GM maize to Africa
on your site. It seems to me that the writer, C.M., is wrong
on two counts: first, the U.S. has not shipped maize
"contaminated with the Starlink gene" to Africa.
Second, the Starlink gene has not caused allergic reactions
in the U.S. or elsewhere. It seems to me that the
writer is the one who lacks credibility. A rational debate
would be useful as to whether or not U.S. maize (which may
or may not contain GMOs; it hasn't been tested) is the best
food aid for Africa. Hurling scurrilous charges does
little to advance such a debate.
Sincerely,
Marc J. Cohen
Special Assistant to the Director General
International Food Policy Research Institute
Washington, DC
October, 2002
Dear Editor,
I looked at your site today and was dismayed to find a very
partial and one- sided account of the issues around supplying
GM maize to Africa. You link to one article
"Environmental Groups Accused of Helping Africans
Starve" but do not present the facts. The maize was/is
contaminated with the Starlink gene which caused allergic
reactions in the U.S. These range from nausea to extreme
reactions which can cause death. All the food products that
were 'contaminated' with Starlink have been removed from
sale in the U.S. and Starlink is banned from food use. After
all this it seems that the U.S. thinks it is safe to feed to
the people of Africa. This is one of the most cynical
exploitation of suffering I have ever seen. It is about time
the U.S. government lived up to its responsibility to ALL
human beings and stopped trying to force GM food on everyone
around the globe. This attitude does a lot of harm to U.S.
interests and can only serve to weaken U.S. credibility.
To balance the piece you could have reported the level of
surplus food within Africa and the programs African
countries have initiated to help each other. They are
supplying non-GM polluted corn to countries that need it.
There is no need to rely on dubious supplies from the U.S.
Let's have some balance on your web site otherwise you will
lose credibility also.
C. S.
Coventry, UK
Dear Editor,
I appreciate the information available from your site. I'm looking for some ideas to introduce the realities of world hunger to affluent middle schoolers. I'd like to develop some meaningful activities to bring the issues home to the students. Any help or sources to check would be appreciated. Thanks, C.S., Social Studies teacher
October, 2002
Dear Editor,
I am leading a high school project that is focused on world
hunger. I am
somewhat at a loss because I am unfamiliar with the topic.
I am looking for
materials that can provide a framework for a syllabus that
covers the basic
issues. I would especially appreciate some books on
the subject that would
provide a basic introduction especially to an international
perspective.
Thank you.
J.Q.
South Shore Charter School, Hull, MA
Dear C.S. and J.Q.,
The best place to start is:
Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger (http://www.feedingminds.org/default.htm)
which is an "international classroom" for
exploring the problems of hunger, malnutrition and food
insecurity. The basic part of the site consists of three
session lesson plans, with materials, on world hunger for
primary, intermediate and secondary level classes. In
four languages: Spanish, French, Italian, and English. Let
me know if you need more information.
--The Editor
October, 2002
Dear Editor,
I sponsor a Middle School CULTURE CLUB. We are hosting the
first student
led HUNGER AWARENESS DINNER on Nov. 7. We want to
present information on hunger in North TEXAS and around the world.
May we have permission to use your site?
Thanks,
J. G.
Dear J.G,
You certainly may use information from our site. Good luck
with your hunger dinner!
--The Editor
October, 2002
Dear Editor,
My school [in Seattle] is currently planning a hunger banquet to be held this spring. We are looking for a speaker on world hunger for this event. We would appreciate any suggestions if you know someone who would be interested and qualified to speak. Thank you very much. M.L.F.
Dear M.L.F.,
We don't know of anyone in the Seattle area specifically,
but Food First is in San Francisco and may have someone who
can speak. Oxfam America helps groups hold hunger
banquets and may also know of a speaker. Bread for the
World is another good possibility. Use Google
to look them up for contact information. It is great
that you are having a hunger banquet! Our best wishes
for a successful one!
--The Editor
September, 2002
Dear Hunger Notes,
My name is A.D. and I am a student at California State
University, Monterey Bay. For our computer class we have to
research something we are interested in and do a power point presentation on it at the
end of the semester. I am writing because I found that the
Hunger Notes website had a great deal of information on
world hunger and I have chosen to research world hunger for
my presentation. I am requesting to use the
information found at www.worldhunger.org/.
I want to use the articles posted on the website to find out
about hunger issues. I will be obtaining most of the
information that relates to starvation in Africa. I
will continually use the information until the end of the
semester which ends at the end of December. The
material will be used for the presentation done in the class
and it may be posted on the website we are creating for the
class. Full credit and citation will be given as
well as a link from my website to Hunger Notes. By
using the information given by Hunger Notes I feel that I
would be able to provide better information and would become
more knowledgeable about world hunger. I want to help people
become more aware of the food shortages in other countries
and how we can help.
Please let me know if I can use the information on your
website. Thank you so much. Sincerely, A. D.
Dear A.D.,
You are welcome to use the information on the Hunger Notes website. In order to do so, please follow these specific rules: For each article give the name of the author and institutional affiliation. For each photo give the name of the photographer and institutional affiliation. Please also establish a link to the Hunger Notes website for every article. Best wishes for a successful project!
--The Editor
September, 2002
Dear Hunger Notes,
I
am assisting in the preparation of a presentation for the
The Salvation Army Helping Hand Scheme 2003 (Harvesting the
Earth). Sopu village in Tonga has been chosen as one of
the projects for 2003. The project is
"Vegetable Ponds." The project would
be financed through the Adult and Family Ministry groups. The project for Tonga is not a feeding programme but a
teaching programme - showing the villagers how to build
walls to keep the soil in and fence it to keep the roaming
pigs out, the villagers would be able to plant and maintain
a garden therefore being able to grow their own vegetables
and eat more nutritiously.
I write to you to ask if you have any coloured pictures of a
map of Tonga and the people of Tonga which could be used in the limited
circulation of our group. I look forward to hearing from you whether you
are able to help or not. With many thanks in anticipation.
T.M. Administrator, Adult & Family Ministries, Salvation
Army U.K.
Dear T.M. For maps, we use Google to search http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Tonga+map, or
we look at the
CIA factbook site. See
perhaps especially http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook
For photos, also use Google (www.google.com). Type in Tonga,
then choose the "image" pick. This will also
get you map images.
--The Editor
Dear Editor,
I am from Faith Baptist church. Our church is a supporter of World Hunger. We have a younger youth group grades 1 to 6. I would like our youth group to sponsor a child as a lesson on supporting the poor. Our pastor suggested checking your web site. Do you have a program like this or can you suggest one? Thank you and God bless your efforts. Sincerely, A. S. Faith Baptist Church, Richmond, IN
Dear A.S.,
Three organizations which offer the possibility for child sponsorship are: Christian Children's Fund. http://www.christianchildrensfund.org/ See the “About Sponsorship” pick on the left.
Save the Children. http://www.savethechildren.org/home.shtml See the “Be a Sponsor” pick at the top of the page.
Compassion International. http://www.compassion.com/ See the “Sponsor a Child” pick.
May God bless your efforts and those of your children!
--The Editor
April, 2002
Dear Editor:
I live in a suburb of Chicago and I am very interested in getting involving in helping end world poverty. Are there any groups in Chicago that focus on this goal in which I could get involved?
I appreciate any direction you might be able to give me. Thanks.
David C.
Dear David,
Bread for the World and Results are two excellent anti-hunger organizations that have a large number of local groups. For Bread, the Chicago area coordinator's name is Rev. Mariah Priggen. Her phone no. is 312-629-9529 and her email address is breadchicago@igc.apc.org. In general to get in touch with BFW local groups call 1-800-82Bread or email organizers@bread.org. For general information on Bread, see www.bread.org.
For Results groups, call Results at 202-783-7100. Jennifer Lee is a good contact there or email her at jlee@action.org. For general information on Results, see www.results.org. Both Bread and Results are very effective, in our judgment.
--The Editor
April, 2002
Dear Editor:
According to The Hunger Site there is a quote which reads:
"Many
hunger experts believe that ultimately the best way to
reduce hunger is through education. Educated people are best
able to break out of the cycle of poverty that causes
hunger." (United Nations Children's Fund )(UNICEF)
Do you believe this quote to be true? How has society
adapted to this belief, if at all? Are there other
efficient ways to reduce hunger?
Thank you very much for your time.
Kim
I don't believe this quote to be true. Education is an important factor, but it is not the only one. A number of other key factors include:
Poverty. Approximately 1 billion people live on $1 a day or less. Hunger is a direct result of such low income.
Conflict. Many people live in countries where there is, or has been, substantial conflict. Conflict causes people to be hungry, by keeping them from their productive occupations such as farming. Often they must flee to refugee camps or to another part of the country where it can be impossible to find work.
Bad governments. Many governments in Africa and other developing countries are not good governments. The governments are there to benefit the countries' leaders and a select few others, not the ordinary person. Through corruption and mismanagement they help keep the people of their nations in poverty.
Population growth and scarcity of resources such as land and water. The population of many countries has been growing rapidly and there is in quite a few regions of the world some shortage of productive land (and increasingly water) relative to the number of people who live there.
Unequal exchange. The great disparity between incomes in developed countries and in developing countries helps keep people in developing countries poor. The income of the average person in a developed country is about 25 times greater than for a person in a developing country. This makes goods produced in developed countries (and which are necessary for development) very expensive for developing countries. How did this happen? Developed countries have had long periods of economic growth, while developing countries have not. For example while Europe and the United States were increasing their per capita income since the 1700s, the people of Africa, for example, suffered under the slave trade and colonialism, which were not designed for their benefit.
Education is important in helping people break out of poverty. However, it is also important to address the other factors that keep people poor. For example, bringing an end to conflict on fair terms would be an enormous help in many countries. Helping people establish governments that are "of the people, by the people, and for the people" in countries where this is not the case would be very important in reducing poverty.
--The Editor
February, 2002
Dear Editor:
I
am from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I am in grade 8
leadership and i thought it would be a totally cool idea to
do the 30 Hour Famine. I asked my principal if we could. She
turned it down, so I decided to try going at it another
way--a flyer. I asked my principal again she said she would
go along with it! I added a few ideas to that one such as
getting the kids at my school to do something creative with
the topic FAMINE-- they could do
anything from a picture to a poem. Well I just
wanted to send this to you hoping I would get some kind of
response from you.
Best, Hannah P.
Very glad you are interested in the topic of famine. I
hope you all get to experience a long voluntary fast. Most
of us in Canada and the United States are very insulated
from the stark realities that nearly a billion people
face--going hungry frequently and often not knowing where
their next meal is coming from. It is very interesting to
force yourself to go without food. The desire for the
experience of being hungry meets up very strongly against
our desire to eat! Which desire will win? It is sort of the
world wrestling championship of will power.
Three further things to say.
First, large scale famine has been reduced in the world. Famine really means that there are a large number of people without food in one place (and many of them thus die). Thanks to several things, including especially international assistance, this large scale, geographically specific kind of desperate hunger has been very much reduced. It still exists, principally in places where conflict has driven people from their sources of livelihood. In recent years this would include large parts of countries such as Congo, Mozambique, Angola and Ethiopia. Though famine is less present, throughout the world there are many, many families and individuals who do not have enough money to buy much food. So, there are still a lot of hungry people in the world, and they and especially their children (who are more vulnerable than adults) do die from lack of sufficient food.
Second, you might want to look at the web to get some
pictures and descriptions of actual famines. Google is a
good place to look (www.google.com) both as a word search
and as an image search. For example this resulted from my
search-- a good article on famine in Afghanistan two years
ago. http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/afghan/photo_01.html.
Also please look at the excellent Washington Post article Less
Than $1 Means Family of 6 Can Eat that
describes one family in Zambia's daily struggle to obtain
enough food.
Third, let Hunger Notes know how things came out-- we
will publish your letter! Thanks for writing.
--The Editor
February, 2002
Dear Editor:
I am doing an extensive research report on world hunger. In the report I need to include views on world hunger that both support it and disapprove it. However, I am not finding many sources that don't want to help the world hunger problem. If you know of any organizations or websites that would help me, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your time. Marie
Dear Marie,
There aren't too many people against ending hunger! However, there are legitimate objections to what happens when this is attempted. See:
The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid International Charity, by Michael Maren.
Aiding Violence: The Development Enterprise in Rwanda, by Peter Uvin. Peter's argument is that development agencies did little to prevent violence they saw was coming.
Also, see Paul and Peter Paddock's book We Don't Know How. The title suggests where they are coming from. This is an old book (1970s), but if you can find it it is good.
--The Editor
January, 2002
Dear Editor:
Hello, I'm a 10th grader at Osbourn Park High school in Manassas. Recently, I was assigned a project on hunger and malnutrition in Sudan. I was wondering if there was any information you could send me to help me with my research. This is a group assignment and there are four parts, history, politics, nutrition, and journalist (recent events). If there is anything you could do to help my group and I, it would be very appreciated. Thank you in advance.
V. B.
Dear V.B.,
An interesting and worthwhile question:
- History. The best on-line series of country studies is that done by American University for the United States Army. History is a part of these country studies and is generally excellent. The country studies are available at the Library of Congress beginning at: http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html. Basic current facts are available at the Central Intelligence Agency Factbook. The homepage is at http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
- Politics. Again the best single place, in Hunger Notes’ estimation, is the American University series mentioned above, which has specific sections on politics. The series stopped being updated sometime in the 1990s, so it may be somewhat confusing for you to bring up to date. The politics hasn’t changed all that much (we have not followed the political situation in any detail), but some of the names of leaders certainly have.
- Nutrition. In general there are three sources to check for nutrition information of countries suffering severe hunger. The first is the UN Food and Agriculture Organization web site, especially the Global Information and Early Warning site there. The second is—or would be-- the World Food Programme site, www.wfp.org but as currently configured, it is not much use. This will probably change. The third is the United States National Library of Medicine Medline website which provides descriptions of medical literature. Type in Sudan in the search box and see what (if any) information about nutrition in Sudan has been published.
- Journalist/current news. For Africa news sources, see AllAfrica at http://allafrica.com/. Also see the British Broadcasting Company site which is well organized and detailed. Use the search engine to identify Sudan stories.
- Also check Google, an outstanding search engine, typing in Sudan. This will give a lot of entries, and you may want to narrow your request by subtopic, which can be done on the results page. See "search within results" at the bottom of the page.
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