411: Hunger

Author: Save the Children UK

NINE MYTHS ABOUT HUNGER

At least 700 million people do not have enough to eat. Hunger is not a myth - but myths about hunger keep us from ending it.

Poll students about why they think hunger exists in both Canada and overseas. Many of their answers will link to popular myths listed below

Myth 1: There's not enough food to go round
Reality: There's enough food in the world to make most people fat!

Myth 2: Nature's to blame
Reality: Food is always available for those who can afford it - starvation in hard times hits only the poorest, when natural events are the final push over the brink.

Myth 3: There are too many people
Reality: Birth rates are falling rapidly worldwide; nowhere does population size explain hunger.

Myth 4: It's a trade-off: the environment or food
Reality: Industrial farming can ruin our soil and undercut our food production sources. Environmentally sound farming can be more productive than destructive ones.

Myth 5: The Green Revolution is the answer
Reality: The Green Revolution (using pesticides and biotechnology) increased productivity in the 1960s and 1970s. But new technology doesn't challenge inequality, which is the root cause of hunger.

Myth 6: We need big farms
Reality: Small farmers get four to five times more output from each acre of land than big farms.

Myth 7: The free market can end hunger
Reality: The free market only works when poor people have money to buy food.

Myth 8: Free trade is the answer
Reality: Many poorer countries grow more and more food for selling to richer countries. This means less food is produced for locals and hunger continues.

Myth 9: The victims are too hungry to fight for their rights
Reality: Wherever people are suffering, they're also fighting for their rights. People in the rich world can help solve the problems that stop people in poorer countries from having their rights respected.