World Hunger: Twelve Myths

World Hunger: Twelve Myths, Frances Moore Lappe, Joseph Collins, Peter Rosset, Grove Press, 1998

Over the years, many myths have emerged about the subject of world hunger. People think that if this or that should happen, hunger will disappear, and no longer will westerners have to look at pictures of starving babies in Africa. This book explodes many of those myths.

Some people think that population (or overpopulation) is the problem. Others think that there simply isn't enough food available, or that nature, with her floods and droughts, is the culprit. Still others think that the solution lies with free trade, or letting the market provide, or with the Green Revolution, with its heavy emphasis on pesticides and other chemicals. Other possibilities are that the poor are simply too hungry to revolt, or that the US should increase its stingy foreign aid budget.

The authors place the blame elsewhere. All over the world, there has been a huge concentration of land in fewer and fewer hands, forcing poor and middle-class peasants off the land (in the US, witness the decline of the family farmer). Structural adjustment programs from places like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (part of the requirements when asking for a loan) require a country to reorient its agriculture toward items that are easily exportable rather than items that can feed their people. Another requirement is the removal of internal tariffs and other barriers to the import of grain and other foodstuffs. It results in a flood of cheaper (usually American) agricultural products reaching the market, driving local farmers out of business. The countries that one thinks of when hearing "famine" actually produce enough food to feed their people. The only problem is that much of it has to go overseas to help pay the foreign debt.

This book is excellent. It presents a potentially complex subject in a clear, easy to understand manner. It contains a list of addresses to contact for more information, and is a great activism reference.

Against the Grain: Biotechnology and the Corporate Takeover of Your Food

Against the Grain: Biotechnology and the Corporate Takeover of Your Food, Marc Lappe and Britt Bailey, Common Courage Press, 1998

Biotechnology is the new "risk-free" solution to the world's food problems, at least according to companies like Monsanto and Dow Chemical. The authors of this book say Not Exactly.

If the purpose of genetic engineering of food was to increase productivity per acre, then it would be not so bad. So far, that has not happened. The only reason for the existence of Roundup Ready soybeans is to increase tolerance to Monsanto's Roundup pesticide, thereby forcing it on farmers. In some cases, productivity over regular soybeans actually decreases. Monsanto has also bought several of the major seed producing companies, further limiting the choices for farmers. Genetic diversity of soybeans is also negatively affected. If large areas of farmland are planted with, genetically, the same plant, what happens when a pesticide-resistant disease or bug comes along? This doesn't include the possible long term effects on the soil and on human health. Up to now, the purpose of genetic engineering has been to increase corporate profits, not help the world's poor.

This book does explore a lot more than just Monsanto and soybeans. The authors have created a very readable look at how genetic engineering is no longer of concern just to scientists, but to everyone. Highly recommended.