Surplus and Suffering: Book Review of First World Hunger Revisited

First World Hunger Revisited: Food Charity or the Right to Food? examines the failure of neoliberal economic policy and globalization to adequately address hunger amidst wealth. The first edition was published in 1997, and this new, expanded second edition demonstrates that current economic policies continue to be root causes of hunger. The book is a collection of essays edited by Graham Riches and Tiina Silvasti from writers in twelve countries- Australia, Brazil, Canada, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Britain, and the US- with advanced or rapidly developing economies that nonetheless have persistent high rates of hunger.

Incentivizing Food Waste

There was much discussion on COMFOOD recently about What's Wrong With a Bill That Helps the Hungry and Reduces Food Waste?, an article about tax incentives for food donations. It begins: 

"A law that could help feed those in need and reduce the amount of perfectly good food chucked into landfills- some 40 percent of fruits, vegetables, and other items goes to waste-would appear to be a double shot of good. A bill that's making its way through the Republican-controlled House would do just that. So why is the Obama administration threatening to veto it?

The Fighting Hunger Incentive Act, which passed out of the Committee on Ways and Means late last week, promises to increase donations to food banks and other charitable groups by provided tax incentives. But some antihunger advocates are concerned that the bill would amount to little more than a massive tax write-off for corporations."

As noted in our History of Emergency Food in the US timeline, many attribute the rise in high calorie but nutritionally deficient foods-what Michael Pollan refers to as "foodish products"-in the donation stream to tax incentives. We would like to see incentives for nutritionally dense foods only. In fact, fruit and vegetable farmers (so called "specialty crop" producers) receive tax incentives in some states and not others. The bill seeks to address that, but in the process, rewards already subsidized corporations, saves them millions in dumping fees, and provides good publicity. But perhaps most disturbingly, they give the wrong impression that hunger and poverty can be solved by charity, and allowing government to ignore its obligations. 

Webinar: How Can the Right to Food Inform Emergency Food in the US?

The Importance of Nonprofit Hospitals

In Poverty Prescriptions: Nonprofit Hospitals Have a Key Role to Play in Feeding America's Hungry, Bina Venkataraman highlights how "food scarcity is a force multiplier for disease." Namely, "The Center for American Progress estimates that in 2010, lack of access to healthy food was responsible for $130.5 billion in health care costs." The IRS issued new rules to curb aggressive debt collection by hospitals, and to "encourage but... not require hospitals to help 'ensure adequate nutrition,' prevent disease, and address socioeconomic and environmental factors affecting community health." WhyHunger is continuing to align our Find Food page with our goals to improve health outcomes by updating our database and making connections with nonprofit hospitals and clinics.