Chronic Hunger in the US: Causes and Prevention

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Table of Contents

Entitlements
Endowment
The Bengal famine of 1974
The exportation of food from famine-stricken areas
Famine causations
Food entitlements to Rosie and Barbie
People suffering from chronic hunger
Hunger in multiparty democracy
Hunger prevention in the US

Entitlements

According to Sen, entitlements underscore the available set of commodities that an individual can control or own using rights and chances that s/he faces in a given society. Entitlements for each individual or household are determined using endowments, production possibilities, and exchange conditions. Examples for these entitlement determinants include labor, technology, and markets respectively.

Endowment

Endowment defines what an individual owns concerning productive resources coupled with access to wealth, which can control market prices. The majority of the poorest individuals across the world have labor as the only endowment. On the other side, the poor are likely to lack wealth, land, and all other resources that underscore endowments.

The Bengal famine of 1974

Sen argues that the 1974 Bengali famine was due to floods. The floods affected food production later during harvesting, which resulted in reduced yields. This scenario caused unemployment, which then led to starvation. Due to the flooding, workers lost earnings that they could have earned via transplanting rice. The earnings could be used to buy food, which explains why the starvation escalated. In addition, food prices rose due to the food shortage coupled with speculations. Direct food aid would have prevented starvation. This move should have happened immediately after the floods because it was clear that yields would be diminished.

The exportation of food from famine-stricken areas

Consumers within famine-stricken areas do not have money to buy food. Therefore, the available food is exported to other areas where individuals have the purchasing power. Food merchants are capitalists, thus they are driven by profits, and this aspect explains why they target areas with available income to purchase food. This scenario can be avoided through the involvement of governments by introducing subsidies or resupplying the needed food requirements for the affected areas

Famine causations

The causes of hunger in India and the United States are different. According to the film, A place at the table, Americans do not experience hunger due to lack of food in the country. On the contrary, they lack access to food aid from the government due to the garbled food stamp system. On the other hand, individuals in India face hunger due to lack of food in the country.

Food entitlements to Rosie and Barbie

Barbie has labor entitlements. In addition, the only endowment that she can control is the little cash that she earns from her labor. There is a huge different between the entitlement and the endowments that these two have. The entitlement, viz. labor, yields meager endowments, viz. wages. The earned wages cannot buy sufficient and nutritious food for Rosie and Barbie and this aspect explains why they are facing hunger.

People suffering from chronic hunger

In the United States, one can identify people suffering from chronic hunger by physical appearance. Chronic hunger is associated with unemployment, which leads to homelessness. Therefore, it is easy to point out a person suffering from chronic hunger because such individuals mostly appear shabby. They might not necessarily be malnourished, but they stand out due to shabbiness, which is caused by homelessness.

Hunger in multiparty democracy

Sen’s assertions that multiparty democracies do not experience hunger are flawed. According to the film, over 50 million Americans are facing hunger, while the country is the epitome of multiparty democracy across the world.

Hunger prevention in the US

The most plausible way of dealing with hunger in the United States is to revisit the laws governing the food stamp system so that food aid from the government can reach those that need it. The filmmakers are trying to create awareness of the hunger situation in the US with the hope that policymakers can understand the issue on the ground and address it by making appropriate policies to counter the situation.

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