While no one is denying that America, and the world, is in a financially difficult time right now, food, water and shelter should be a given for all citizens of the world. Although there are countless solutions or improvements in the fight against hunger and starvation, some may be more effective than others. Those include creating more equal, efficient and useful food banks and government issued food to replace food stamps or SNAP, develop new ways to produce food closer to the customer and finally, activists should inform the average person of their ability to invest into the problem.
I think it’s an important to recognize several facts first. In the state of Illinois, more than 1.5 million people live in poverty, that’s 12.2% of the state. In addition, 11.1% of Illinois households face food insecurity. And finally, more than 1.6 million people participate in SNAP, formerly food stamps (“Hunger in Illinois”).
Social Class, Income & Demographics.
Throughout various nations, we can easily determine who could be going hungry based on their financial status. For the most part, only the very low class is at high risk for developing hunger difficulties. The correlation between poverty and food insecurity is very high in Illinois and one way residents have been feeding themselves and their families is through food stamps. Food stamps in the United States have been in place since 1939, however many believe that the system is incredibly inefficient. Paul Nyman, a 21 year journalist who focuses on family issues in SeattlePi says, “53 percent of qualified Seattle-area residents ignored the aid, leaving $40 million in stamps”. This data was according to Brooklings Institution who also alleges that the stamps not claimed are because more people line up at food banks, as they don’t realize they qualify for stamps. And for some, a great deal of money is still coming out of their paycheck or savings account to feed themselves or their families.
While the communities in which you and I grew up in do not have the same issues, it is a staggering fact to realize that more than 10% of American adults live in food insecure homes. Twenty-two percent of all kids may not know when their next meal will be let alone where it is coming from, and just over half of those, about 12.5%, won’t be full when they go to bed(“Hunger Statistics, Hunger Facts & Poverty Facts”). This uncertainty of where food is coming from can have an even greater impact on children. At such a young age, they are still being molded into adults and more importantly have no control over the situation. Until at least their teenage years when they can seek food on their own or get a job, children should be given the basics by their parents, however when the parents cannot provide, the children will only continue to suffer and may never reach their full potential, as they are dealing with an abundance of physical and mental issues as you will see in a moment.
Furthermore, America has to sort out their priorities. Currently, America is in the process of applying nationwide healthcare for every man, woman and child, something you have been focusing on and contributing to in Illinois for more than thirty years. But, its hard to understand how nation expects our citizens to stay healthy and out of the hospital when their bodies are in starvation mode. While nationwide healthcare is providing social justice to many in the sense that it builds a socially positive program to improve the community, not tackling the food and hunger matter first makes healthcare pointless. I feel as if every citizen of Illinois, and the world for that matter, received nutrition first, there would be a great reduction in need for healthcare. In depth studies by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) say that there are many consequences of hunger. Infant mortality rate in closely linked to inadequate quality and quantity, hungry children are more likely to be absent from school, suffer from height stunting, develop low concentration in school, experience faster development of disease and increased anxiety and depression are just some of the repercussions of malnutrition. Once the cycle of malnutrition for a family begins, it is very hard to end (Appendix B). If you are in poverty, have poor food access or poor nutrition, you begin a downward spiral. Furthermore, the current system of food stamps, or SNAP, provides so little to families that nearly all of the healthy and fresh food is far too expensive to feed them or their family.
Feeding a family can be hard enough for middle-low income families, however the greatest percentage of households going hungry are single mothers with children (Appendix C). When women, who have always made less financially then men, are left to take care of themselves and their family, it creates an extreme burden, as you can see. A mind-blowing 31.4% of all single mothers with children are food insecure. Single mothers with children are remarkably close to having the same food insecurity as families with income under the poverty line. Actions need to take place to ensure American citizens, especially children, are able to have adequate nutrition, as we have seen the detrimental effects if that does not happen. I know that I was shocked when I learned that almost a third of single mothers with children are food insecure, and I’m sure millions others will be too. With that said, it is vital to raise awareness to encourage America to change.
Awareness
While these seem to be the huge problems, it’s imperative to raise awareness with the people who are listened to. Actors, singers, Olympians and athletes are all lining up to be seen supporting the cause. Since celebrities have outlets that many people do not, millions see what they are doing and saying. For example, singer Christina Aguilera teamed up with the World Food Programme in January of 2010 to make a series of TV commercials raising awareness of world hunger, most recently in Haiti. Celebrities should be encouraged and partner with government agencies to stand behind and represent food orginizations. However, simply bringing awareness might not be enough. As James Gibbs, a famous British architect said, “Raising awareness is the key (to) getting people to ask the right questions- only they can decide what they do from there.” With that said, with the added exposure, not all, but certainly some of the viewers will be inclined to donate or help the cause.
However, celebrities aren’t the only high power and visible people that are fighting hunger. For years, politicians, such as yourself, have also been in the media as well. For example, last year when you realized that one in six Illinois children will be going to bed hungry tonight, you organized a $129,000 grant to expand food pantries, which increased the capacity of many food banks (“Hunger Prevention”). The focus you placed on hunger in Illinois is a step in the right direction and helped thousands of people with millions of pounds of extra food, however other states and governors aren’t as proactive as you. Each state should have a specific office devoted to hunger and food stability, as each state knows how to serve their people best, and what may be ideal for one state, may be different for another. This idea should be brought up to other state representatives to compel them to follow. Likewise, on the other side of the country in California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger gave $4 million in food aid to the 90,000 people who line up at food pantries every week (Hunger, Jobs and Water Wars). Many find it ironic that California, which is the number one producer of food can leave so many hungry. As Cesar Chavez, founder of National Farm Workers Association which became United Farm Workers, insists, “It is ironic that those who till the soil, cultivate and harvest the fruits, vegetables and other foods that fill your tables with abundance have nothing left for themselves” (McCornack 252). Cesar was known to be the founding father of farming rights and wanted to ensure that the hard workers can feed themselves, as well as thousands of others.
To solve this nationwide problem, high power officials need to receive the facts and get the data. Visually, lining up one hundred people and taking about twenty of them aside can clearly show how many people will be going hungry. For a nation that spends billions on pork-barreling in D.C., officials need to come forward and address the problem of hunger and search for a solution, which can be fixed by cutting back on certain issues that are not absolutely necessary at the time, and focus on their cities and states.
Near & Far, Hunger is there.
No matter where you go, from the smallest to largest cities, there will always be someone living in poverty. While living in Chicago, I witnessed that homelessness is a present and visible problem. Rarely can you walk a city block without seeing a homeless person. It always seems amazing to me how financially diverse and ironic big cities are. For example, a man is malnourished and homeless, but thirty or fifty stories up lives a multi-millionaire, some of whom, don’t even see the homeless. Within two weeks of moving to East Lansing for school, a much smaller city than Chicago, I saw a homeless man sleeping under a bus shelter on Grand River. A shelter that was less than one mile away from a university which I pay more than $40,000 a year to attend. And I asked myself, isn’t there a way to make sure everyone doesn’t go hungry? Maybe that means twenty-five dollars less in the pocket of each person, but I think everyone would appreciate a cheap, filling meal if they were in poverty. In a city that focuses on the community, magnificent attractions and millions spent on public entertainment, it seems ironic that there are people who are very much left out.
Personally, one was that my high school attempts to combat this problem is by holding an annual can drive. With a group as large as ours, about 2,500, we manage to bring is around 80,000 cans within a month. The entire school is involved and it turns into a competition between our classes, with the winning class receiving breakfast in class. At the end of the drive, trucks arrive to begin the long process of loading tens of thousands of cans into the truck. Our community benefits from knowing that we helped thousands, while those thousand benefit by receiving attenuate food and nutrition.
Vertical Farming.
In the world, there is a great deal of inefficiency involving the production of food compared to it’s potential. In a personal interview with Nathan Unterman, a physicist who also specializes in future stability and development, he said, “Food in the future is going to be a large (issue)”. While many people are coming up with many ways to solve the issue, he believes in vertical farms and genetic engineering saying that, “through genetic engineering and vertical farms, you can achieve a higher yield and faster yield.
The design of vertical farms are skyscraper-like buildings with glass or fenced walls that have gained national recognition on TV and in newspapers in the past few years. The most common example takes place in Chicago right on Lake Michigan (Appendix D). In any town, a square city block with a vertical farm 30-stories high would produce the same amount as 2,400 acres of traditional farming. They allow farmers to grow a much larger amount in the same area, ideal for crowded cities and also allow harvesting year-round, not just when the weather outdoors is warm enough. There will also be no surprises due to frosting, such as the Smucker’s jelly spike in price when a great amount of their farmers crops froze in the season several years ago. Some buildings have small rooftop gardens, such as the Communication Arts & Sciences Building at Michigan State University. In Illinois, the City Hall in Chicago was one of the first buildings in the nation to install a full garden with more than 20,000 plants (“Chicago City Hall Rooftop Garden Plants and Maintenance”). Even today, restaurants and other buildings have gardens on their roof which provides healthy fresh food, as well as serving as insolation, keeping warm air in, in the winter and cold air in, in the summer, delay water runoff in storms and many more benefits.
Additionally, growing in vertical farms would be able to make all the fruits and vegetables organic or all natural. With the carefully controlled climate and genetic engineering, the skyscrapers would be able to produce a yield so high that growth hormones aren’t necessary. Genetic engineering changes the seed slightly to produce a more desired crop. Some outcomes may include a larger crop or a longer lasting crop. Furthermore, since the crops aren’t outside, herbicides and pesticides, for bugs, would not have to be used which, in studies, say affect children’s development and health negatively.
Along with helping farmers produce more food per dollar spent, the push would also create thousands of construction jobs, a field that could greatly use a helping hand in employing workers. While individual farmers will most likely not have the ability to take on this project, the government and food corporations should put their money in an investment that will be invaluable for the future. Being the first country to invest in this technology could create a domino effect and greatly reduce hunger in all countries. Another convenience that vertical farms provide is that they can be used in major cities, reducing the travel time the food takes to get to the consumer according to Unterman. The benefits are so great, many who are aware of the potential solution are wondering why building hasn’t begun.
Unterman believes, or hopes rather, that vertical farms will be built within the next several decades. Estimates of the world population show a dramatic increase in the coming decades according to the UN (Appendix E). By 2050, the UN also anticipates eighty percent of the worlds population will be in urban areas and big cities. With billions crammed into dense areas, it would be essential for food to be easily transported and arrive on families tables fresh. Just as creators and builders of major contributions to society, the building of the first vertical farm would forever be in history. Many major universities have studies this idea, in fact students at Colombia University in New York came up with the idea. The blueprints and plans to build are already well thought through, but none of them can afford the cost. With the economic downturn, land in Chicago would be able to be purchased at a reasonable rate and before you know it, organic, fresh grown food could be on our plates.
Benefits for All.
While these efforts would greatly improve the lives of so many who are hungry, it would also be a win-win situation for you as well. An incredible 74.6% of all U.S. citizens that are using pantries, soup kitchens and shelters are also registered to vote (Mabli, Cohen, Potter and Zhao). When you consider the amount of people are using these services on a weekly basis, the number of potential voters is enormous. With a large contribution that you signed off on, it would be nearly impossible to have your name overlooked by tens of thousands, all of which are grateful for your action.
The ideas and concepts that our founding fathers created more than 225 years ago still ring true today. The Declaration of Independence holds concrete truth that “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” were to be guaranteed to all people. Life is one of the words that our founding fathers used, but hunger and starvation leads to deaths everyday. The changes you make today can effect many generations to come.
Here in the United States, we like to see our world in rainbow glasses, however once we wake up, we realize that millions of people will have no idea where or when their next meal is going to come from. Hunger is an issue that should be brought to the forefront of politicians and other Americans’ priorities. Those who are hungry, rarely have the ability to speak up and out like celebrities and politicians do, so they go unheard. The day that no one goes hungry may be the day that oil mixes with water, however we, as a community, have to keep on trying and never give up. In a nation that focuses on creating greater regard for basic human rights, financial stability and the “American Dream,” it seems unprofessional and uncaring to ignore a great part of the community. There are so many ways that Americans, along with the rest of the world can stop going hungry. With developments in vertical farms, farmers will be able to produce more food at a much lesser cost, also employing thousands. Careful choosing of funds by the local government will greatly improve each geographical areas needs instead of the general food stamps and finally generating awareness will hopefully lead to millions of small donations from everyday citizens which, combined can make a enormous impact.
“Society is best measure by how they take care of their citizens” -Nathan Unterman
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