Hunger is a poverty problem

I highly recommend the recent New York Times article by Mark Bittman entitled “Dont ask how to feed the 9 billion”.  In the article and during a subsequent talk he gave at the New York Times sponsored “Food for Tomorrow” conference, Bittman simply and clearly debunks the myth that only industrial agriculture  can feed the world’s expanding population.

As he notes, by current estimates, between 30 and 40% of agricultural products purchased in the United States to be eaten as food is ends up in the garbage as waste.   Add to  that that the 40% that goes to produce ethanol (according to a 2012 NY Times article) and it becomes clear that we produce plenty of food.  The real problem is making sure that we eat what we produce and that everyone can afford to buy what they need.