Exodus from Hunger: We Are Called to Change the Politics of Hunger
Language: English
Pages: 209
ISBN: 0664236847
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
It is within America's technical and financial power to help end world hunger in our lifetime, if we set our hearts and minds to the task. Contrary to what many people believe, the world has made measurable advancements against hunger and poverty over the last several decades. But too often the binding constraint on further progress is a simple lack of political will. As a result, one of the most powerful ways to affect change is often the most neglected- political activism.
In this powerful and hopeful book, David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World and a leading anti-hunger activist, looks at the causes of hunger, presents case studies of countries that have made great strides against it, and puts a human face on the problem by sharing stories of people who are, quite simply, hungry every day. The problems can seem overwhelming but Beckmann lays out a clear and workable plan for effectively using political channels to make great progress. He not only challenges us to get involved, he shows us how. It is no less than our call to do so.
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Agriculture Organization (FAO) maintains the world’s official estimates on undernutrition, and those numbers tell a more complicated story. The number of undernourished people in developing countries declined from nearly 1 billion in 1970 to about 800 million in the mid-1990s. But the number of undernourished people climbed gradually over the last decade—and then spiked in 2008–2009. Poor people in developing countries typically spend more than two-thirds of their total income on a staple grain.
And although they weren’t exactly poor, they “didn’t have anything extra.” Joe benefited from a good education. He attended Catholic schools and, after four years in the navy, graduated from St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights. Joe earned his law degree at Columbia University. He went on to have a successful career. He was a lawyer on Wall Street, then an executive for JC Penney, and ended up spending most of his working life as a healthcare consultant. He was surrounded by ambitious New.
Part of the same band—U2—for more than thirty years. During the Ethiopia famine of the mid-1980s, another Irish rock star, Bob Geldof, organized Live Aid, a concert that raised millions of dollars for Ethiopia. U2 played in the concert, and Bono and his wife, Alison, later traveled to Africa. Bono came to understand that onerous debt-service obligations dwarfed the charitable contributions Live Aid had mobilized. Bono got involved in advocacy and found Jamie Drummond to be his advisor. In 2004.
And Medicare—but as voters we must encourage them to provide serious strategies to reduce deficit spending. Some politicians will use the deficit as an argument for cutting assistance to needy people. Yet all the programs of assistance for people facing hardship amount to only 14 percent of government spending. This includes tax credits for low-income workers; unemployment and disability insurance; and food stamps, school meals, and housing assistance.7 We should insist on efficiency and results.
Father of an addict, I have also learned that people make their own choices and that nobody can do much to help someone who is caught up in self-destructive behavior. The addiction of a family member drives other members of the family crazy—or, alternatively, to a deeper reliance on God. Alcoholics, addicts, and their family members learn that our lives are out of control, and the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous encourage us to ask our Higher Power—whether we talk about God or have a.