Food Insecurity
Hunger in American households has risen by 43 percent over the last five years, according to an analysis of US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data released today. The analysis, completed by the Center on Hunger and Poverty at Brandeis University, shows that more than 7 million people have joined the ranks of the hungry since 1999.
The USDA report, Household Food Security in the United States, 2004, says that 38.2 million Americans live in households that suffer directly from hunger and food insecurity, including nearly 14 million children. That figure is up from 31 million Americans in 1999.
4 comments:
Hello, just happened to browse past your blog. I wonder what "hunger" is defined as because most of the homeless and destitute I see in the streets of Oakland and San Francisco (and yes, even in nearby yuppy suburbs like Fremont) seem to be well-nourished by third-world standards. The Chinese, the South-East Asians, and the Africans pretty much cornered the market on "hunger". Hunger in America, in my opinion, is a myth. (That's not to say not an issue to be addressed! Please don't get get me wrong!) But it is a matter of semantics in many cases.
After all, no one is ever truly dying of hunger in America are they? There are food sources and even *free* food sources in every city in the country. How can anyone be hungry? I mean, I'm kinda hungry right now. Do I qualify?
Americans are not bloating and dying of hunger, but a shame the "richest country on the planet" has any hunger at all. Not to mention the effect malnutrition has on the brain, not that Americans are known for being brilliant though.
A lot of the starving and AIDS in the world is a myth but starvation and AIDS exist.
Perhaps even the idea that America is a rich country is a myth. One man's myth might be another's man's meal.
No doubt America is among the wealthiest of nations as measured by whatever standard, but as we see prices rise, jobs downsize, and income stagnate, many of us don't feel wealthy at all. Not being an economist, I think it's like this when simplified:
1% of Americans possess 1/3 of the wealth (property including stocks); the rest of the top 20% hold 51% of the wealth, leaving 15.5% to be fought over, er, shared amongst the other 80% of us. [latest data, 2001, http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html]
Income is likewise disproportionately spread with us 80% managing on 41% of it. CEO salaries have increased by over 300% while the federal minimum wage has actually declined when adjusted for inflation.
So - it may be a wealthy nation but only a handful are actually 'wealthy'.
I think that "malnourished" would be a better way to describe hunger in America. Obesity can be a form of malnourishment, where people starve while appearing to be getting plenty of food. The poor in America increasingly have less access to fresh, unrefined, ungenetically modified food, and instead are given the lowest grade choices. Walmart is now the number one food retailer in the world. Consolidation and privatization--the unholy lunchroom ladies.
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