Hunger | Teen Ink

Hunger

May 9, 2011
By closer2b BRONZE, New City, New York
closer2b BRONZE, New City, New York
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Did you know that 852 million people starve from hunger everyday? That’s more than the populations of the U.S., Canada, and the European Union combined (11 Facts About Global Hunger). Starvation is not only a U.S. problem, it’s a worldwide issue that is increasing at an alarming rate. Many people don’t even bother with helping, because they don’t want to give away their surplus of food for the needs of others. But have you ever put yourself in their shoes and wonder how life is?
Starvation in the U.S. is affecting our country as a whole. It leaves many malnourished which is causing adults not to work. If they’re not work then they aren’t contributing to society and making money. This leaves many people on the streets or in serious debt. This results in the government not receiving the money they need to keep our country in tip-top shape. People who starve are also more vulnerable to diseases because a lack of vitamins and minerals. These vitamins and minerals give you what you need to function properly and help you to make everyday connections. This can affect kids and their ability to learn. Children with suffer from starvation are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, behavior problems and other illnesses (11 Facts About Hunger in the U.S.). This will lead to a decrease in grades and an increase in dropouts and suspensions. A recent CBS report interviews a single mother whose kids cry from hunger (For Some Kids, Hunger All To Real). The mother is a full time janitor fails to put food on the table. She says she cries every time she hears her kids beg for food
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Hunger isn’t only an issue in the U.S., it’s a worldwide phenomenon. In the world there are 852 million people dealing with starvation and every year that number increases by four million people (11 Facts About Global Hunger). The reason for this is because hunger is being passed down from mother to child leaving their newborn underweight and underdeveloped. Every year, 17 million newborns are born underweight due to their mothers being malnourished (11 Facts About Global Hunger) . This leaves the children short in stature and with weak immune systems so it’s hard to fight back against common diseases. Also children who suffer from hunger achieve less in school. Any starvation that gets too serious can lead to death. Everyday, 16,000 kids die from hunger related symptoms (11 Facts About Global Hunger). Regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are credited with most of these deaths (11 Facts About Global Hunger). In fact, in South Asia, the longevity is 63 years and in Sub-Sahara Africa the longevity is 46. (Poverty Overview). This comes nowhere close to the world longevity of 73 years old.
The main reason why people don’t help the issue is because they don’t want to give up their own food. This is mostly because they are stubborn and greedy rather than them actually being low on food. But what they don’t understand is that hunger is killing millions and leaving many homeless and starving on the streets. The opposition states that the rate of hunger isn't increasing and that hunger isn't an issue in our society. This is a false statement because 925 million people collectively do not have enough to eat (11 Facts About Global Hunger). This is more than the population of the U.S., Canada, and the European Nation combined! Also, this number increases by four million every year on average (11 Facts About Global Hunger). These are two very large numbers that have to be simmered down immediately.
There are many solutions for stopping hunger. There are some government organized programs like the World Food Program and the Emergency of Food Assistance Program that provide food for those who are in need. You can help by just simply donating to any donating to any food programs like the ones above or you could join any of these organizations. A simpler way to help is to organize or donate to a local food drive. There are tons scattered around the country and you can usually find them locally. A key was to help is to get people more aware of the issue and how it’s a growing problem in our society. You can do this by simply talking about it to friends and co-workers. Doing any of this would be taking a big step to ultimately stopping hunger.
Hunger is a major problem in our society an there’s no sign of it getting better. If this issue is not treated soon, then ultimately the economy will cope into a state of depression where possibly food would be rationed. This means that your daily food consumption will monitored and altered by the government. A simple way you can take action is to donate food to a local food drive. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and do something!


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