World hunger statistics are terrible with 1 in 9 people hungry. With so much aff

Question

World hunger statistics are terrible with 1 in 9 people hungry. With so much affluence and technology why is this so high?

Should society do more with charity or should technology provide the way for more GMO breakthroughs [genetically modified organisms]?

Think this question through since the end may not justify the means. Take into consideration the issues of charity and GMOs. Use your ethics knowledge to talk to the root cause rather than the solution.

https://www.wfp.org/hunger/stats

What are your thoughts? What should we do?

Explanation / Answer

The reasons and the root cause of hunger are manifold. The following are some of the critical factors affecting hunger and reasons to alleviate them:

End of Poverty trap:

This is a vicious cycle. Population living in poverty and who cannot afford food for themselves and their families remain weak and continuously ill. So, this diminishes their ability to earn and causes hunger and finally death. Governments of the respective countries need to start hunger alleviation programs by offering a mandatory free or very cheap, subsidized food to the people who are facing or are on the verge of facing hunger. Such programs need investments and the rich and people who can afford to donate must donate to such programs.

Lack of investment in agriculture:

The second biggest issue is technological backwardness and investments in agriculture. Because of this, the productivity per acre has remained flat while the population has increased tremendously. This has increased the prices of the food and overall affordability of the food in poor nations.

Here governments and international bodies can pitch in by offering better quality seeds and interventions such as GMO seeds, etc. to increase the yield per acre and provide affordable food to the vulnerable sections of the society.

Climate and weather

Ad climate and weather such as cyclones, droughts, and floods have added to the hunger problem. This has been caused due to climate changes in certain parts of the world. Due to this, there is a shortage of food in some countries leading to hunger. The world bodies need to monitor the situation critically in these areas and provide all the aid to fight the hunger.

War and displacement

There has been many regional conflicts and wars in countries such as Somalia, African countries, Middle East, Syria, etc. This has resulted in mass hunger among the displaced population. This is a great humanitarian crisis facing the world.

Many world agencies such as UNO has pitched in to provide relief and food to the displaced population. But there are many steps that international community can take to avoid such situations which are clearly human-made.

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