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[umiman]

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8109698.stm

Excerpt:

One billion people throughout the world suffer from hunger, a figure which has increased by 100 million because of the global financial crisis, says the UN. "It's the first time in human history that we have so many hungry people in the world," said FAO spokesman Kostas Stamoulis

Oh noes! I contributed to that figure! I'm hungry too! Argh, why didn't I eat breakfast today?

[Aqizzar]

Umiman, do you want your own blog or something?

[ToonyMan]

Listen to The Green Chin.  Or he'll go Hulk!

[umiman]

Umiman, do you want your own blog or something?

?

I do this every once in awhile, post up a bunch of topics. You've seen it before, you've participated in them before. If I were blogging, I would have just done what Strife did. If you're just irritated because I disagreed with you on Iran, you can easily go someplace else.

If you want the motivation, it's because someone else in this forum complained to me that he's disturbed by how much CP this forum has and how everyone readily accepts it. I had no idea what he was talking about but I figured I could create other topics to talk about.

Edit: In any case, I guess I'm not doing this topic justice. World hunger is a serious problem and I think starving children is a significant issue. Unfortunately, we have no clue how the FAO does its statistics or what it considers "hungry". I can't find any definitions on their website, other than the proclaimation that a lot of people will be "hungry".

Interestingly enough, it's quite possible for us to solve global hunger issues but the main thing keeping us back is red tape. All it takes is one look at how much food we waste per day (especially if you've ever worked at a restaurant) but it's really a problem of red tape and transportation. Economic and trade barriers aren't helping either, nor is the prohibitively high prices set by most governments around the world to protect their interests in the agricultural sector.

[ToonyMan]

"...how much CP..."


What's CP?

[Gunner-Chan]

Child porn? Comand points? Captive Ponies?

[umiman]

Capt. Picard.

CP is slang for child porn. Again, I have no idea what he was talking about. If he wants to come here and explain to us, it would be nice.

[ToonyMan]

Anyway...


I was hungry, but then I remembered that I own earth.  Backyards are savoirs.

[Aqizzar]

Umiman, I though it was weird you were starting all of these news topics tonight with irreverent commentary.  That's all.  Enough with the fucking hostility.

Re: Hunger, you've pretty much got it.  There's no shortage of food in the world, not by a long shot.  The problem is where all the food is and where it's going, namely to people who can afford it.  Not surprisingly the parts of the world that can't grow their own food tend not to have any money either.

In lieu of a more substantive analysis, I will point to an agricultural model that's actually working, if inefficiently - India.  India has over a billion people in a not-exactly fertile area smaller than half the continental U.S., yet India has no significant food shortages without importing any staple foods.  Food self-sufficiency, mainly through labor and land intensive family based farming - not exactly repeatable elsewhere, but a glimpse at what agriculture can accomplish when economic pressures are smaller than tradition and need.

[ToonyMan]

It's funny thinking that the food I eat is made from the opposite side of the world.  Sickening actually.

[umiman]

It's funny thinking that the food I eat is made from the opposite side of the world.  Sickening actually.

I'm not too sure about that. If you're in the US, chances are quite a lot of your food is American, especially considering the climate (Chinese foods getting so much trouble, etc. etc.). True, a lot of packaged food might come from overseas but most fresh goods would be homegrown. I'm assuming you eat a lot of fresh foods...

Aqizzar: I don't know what to say, since I meant it with no hostility. If you come in here with a confrontational statement, it's unfair to expect me to not respond to it. Seriously, I have no beef with you. Can we stop doing this?

[inaluct]

Just saying, I echo Aqizzar's sentiments.

[ToonyMan]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

HULK SMASH

Waters neat too, it has been EVERYWHERE.  The ocean, your local river, far away pond, some guys armpit, vomt, icebergs, blah, blah, blah.


And yes, on "occasions" I dare eat processed food.

[Luke_Prowler]

Hunger, like so many things, is subjective. Saying that someone is, say, malnourished would probably be a much more of a solid term, and more of a cause for alarm.

[Leafsnail]

I'm really not sure what they could mean.  The most probably way is by measuring the number of people who are in areas deprived of food, and the number of people too poor to be able to buy enough food.  But they fail to define either of these things.