Betting on Famine: Why the World Still Goes HungryFew know that world hunger was very nearly eradicated in our lifetimes. In the past five years, however, widespread starvation has suddenly reappeared, and chronic hunger is a major issue on every continent. In an extensive investigation of this disturbing shift, Jean Ziegler—one of the world’s leading food experts—lays out in clear and accessible terms the complex global causes of the new hunger crisis. Ziegler’s wide-ranging and fascinating examination focuses on how the new sustainable revolution in energy production has diverted millions of acres of corn, soy, wheat, and other grain crops from food to fuel. The results, he shows, have been sudden and startling, with declining food reserves sending prices to record highs and a new global commodities market in ethanol and other biofuels gobbling up arable lands in nearly every continent on earth. Like Raj Patel’s pathbreaking Stuffed and Starved, Betting on Famine will enlighten the millions of Americans concerned about the politics of food at home—and about the forces that prevent us from feeding the world’s children. |
Contents
The Geography of Hunger | 3 |
Invisible Hunger | 25 |
Protracted Crises | 29 |
The Gaza Ghetto | 35 |
Refugees from the North Korean Famine | 40 |
The Children of Crateús | 43 |
God Is Not a Farmer | 46 |
No One Goes Hungry in Switzerland | 51 |
A Billionaires Fear | 141 |
Victory of the Predators | 151 |
Natural Selection Redux | 156 |
Jalil Jilani and Her Children | 159 |
The Defeat of Jacques Diouf | 164 |
The Murder of Iraqs Children | 169 |
The Vultures of Green Gold | 177 |
A Great Lie | 179 |
The Tragedy of Noma | 55 |
The Awakening of Conscience | 63 |
Famine and Fatalism Malthus and Natural Selection | 65 |
Josué de Castro Phase One | 70 |
Hitlers Hunger Plan | 82 |
A Light in the Darkness The United Nations | 91 |
Josué de Castro Phase Two A Very Heavy Coffin | 97 |
Enemies of the Right to Food | 103 |
The Crusaders of Neoliberalism | 105 |
The Horsemen of the Apocalypse | 120 |
When Free Trade Kills | 129 |
Savonarola on Lake Geneva | 134 |
The Collapse of the WFP and the FAOs Impotence | 139 |
Barack Obamas Obsession | 184 |
The Curse of Sugarcane | 187 |
Hell in Gujarat | 195 |
Criminal Recolonization | 196 |
The Speculators | 205 |
The Tiger Sharks | 207 |
Geneva World Capital of AgriFood Speculators | 221 |
Land Grabs and the Resistance of the Damned | 225 |
The Complicity of the Western States | 238 |
Epilogue | 242 |
Notes | 249 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
acres Action Against Hunger Addax Africa agri-food agricultural American Amnesty International Asia Bangladesh Belgasmi Benin bioethanol biofuels Brazil Brazilian calories camps Cargill caused commodities corn corporations countries country’s crisis Dakar death Development Diouf director disease economic English Europe European families famine FAO's farm farmers fertilizers fight fome food aid France French Gaza Geneva Geography of Hunger global hectares hedge funds Human Rights Council India industry International Iraq Jean Ziegler Josué de Castro land live locusts malnutrition Malthus ment million minister multinational Nazi NGOs Niger noma nutrition organizations Paris percent permanent plant plantations policies poor population president region rice right to food rural Senegal social South speculation Sponeck starving suffering sugarcane Swiss thousands tiger sharks tion tons trade Trans translation undernourished undernutrition Union United Nations victims wheat women workers World Bank