The Hunger Paradox

Famine- and hunger-plagued Africa supplies the ever-increasing food demand of the US, where a third of the population is overweight. There are, however, many African nations whose agricultural sectors are gradually becoming more productive.

In Uganda, for example, the Nile perch caught in Lake Victoria and processed in a factory a few kilometres away is sent to San Francisco, 6440 kilometers away, ready to be cooked and served on American tables.

Because it is blessed with two harvest seasons, abundant rain and fertile volcanic soil, Uganda has, over the course of a decade, increased not only its fish production (by 50%) but also that of rice (production has doubled in the last five years and is set to double again by 2011), vanilla, sunflower seeds, roses and potatoes.

These impressive agricultural achievements do not benefit Uganda or its desperately needy neighbors. Instead, the profits are reaped mostly by foreign multinationals who take advantage of the extremely cheap labor available in these countries and export most of the produce to the wealthy part of the world.

Instead of posing a solution to the problem of world hunger a global system has been created which has little respect for the labor of millions of people or for social justice.

Source: Missionary International Service News Agency