419
The cascade of complexities ultimately comes down to suffering, and the
end- losers in this vicious cycle of ecological dysfunction. Ecology and geopolitics
is rife with mismatches between our species and all others, and how that comes to
ultimately backfire upon us. Growing rural-to-urban migrations, loss of agricultural
expertise on the ground in the countryside, absentee landlords (zamindars, in India),
small untenable plots, the profoundly counter-biological monoculture versus a far
more sustainable polyculture, the short-term hegemonies of multinational intellectual property right invasions, the chemical fallacies brought into the limelight by the
Green Revolution, and the use of hunger and civil unrest to further political interests
(as in the case of Bangladesh, 1974): all add to the inevitability of misery.
The fact that there is suffering on account of food, and innumerable instances
where farmers destroy their product during emergencies because of the breakdown
in distribution options, or the collapse of market prices, is more than merely tragic
irony. It is one of many paradoxes afflicting the fundamental (ethically proposed)
right of all organisms of every species to be able not to starve to death. Alas, from
the earliest recorded famines by the historians Livy, and Josephus, human suffering
has mirrored the equally vast torment endured by other domestic, farm, and wild
species (Fig. 46.1).
Hunger. Human Rights & the Global Economy eJournal. Social Science Research Network
(SSRN). K. von Grebmer, J. Bernstein, L. Hammond, F. Patterson, A. Sonntag, L. Klaus,
J. Fahlbusch, O. Towey, C. Foley, S. Gitter, K. Ekstrom, and H. Fritschel. 2018. 2018 Global
Hunger Index: Forced Migration and Hunger. Bonn and Dublin: Welthungerhilfe and Concern
Worldwide. See also, Patrick Webb, Gunhild Anker Stordalen, Sudhvir Singh, Ramani WijesinhaBettoni, Prakash Shetty, Anna Lartey (2018). “Hunger and malnutrition in the 21st century”. The
BMJ. 350: k2238. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2238. PMC 5996965. PMID 29898884.See
also, Joanna Rea (25 May 2012). “2012 G8 summit – private sector to the rescue of the world’s
poorest?”. The Guardian. See also, “Africa: Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) Leads
Transformation of Global Nutrition Agenda with $787 million Investment”. AllAfrica. 8 June
2013. See, K. von Grebmer, J. Bernstein, A. de Waal, N. Prasai, S. Yin, Y. Yohannes: 2015 Global
Hunger Index - Armed Conflict and the Challenge of Hunger. Bonn, Washington D. C., Dublin:
Welthungerhilfe, IFPRI, and Concern Worldwide. October 2015. See also, Lucy Lamble (15
October 2019). “Higher temperatures driving ‘alarming’ levels of hunger – report”. The Guardian.
See “Organizing for action” (PDF). FAO, 2011. See also, “How Blockchain Can Be Used to
Address Food Security in India,” by Javaid Sofi, December 11, 2018, MAHB. See “India
FoodBanking Network,” A Food Security Foundation India Initiative, https://www.indiafoodbanking.org/hunger; See India’s Food Security Problem,” by William Thomson, April 2, 2012, The
Diplomat, https://thediplomat.com/2012/04/indias-food-security-problem/Accessed April 27,
2020. See “How Blockchain Will Transform the Supply Chain And Logistics Industry,” by Bernard
Marr, Forbes, March 23, 2018. See “What is Blockchain?” Bernard Marr & Co., https://www.
bernardmarr.com/default.asp?contentID=1389, Accessed April 22, 2020.
46.3 A Continuing Crisis
The cascade of complexities ultimately comes down to suffering, and the
end- losers in this vicious cycle of ecological dysfunction. Ecology and geopolitics
is rife with mismatches between our species and all others, and how that comes to
ultimately backfire upon us. Growing rural-to-urban migrations, loss of agricultural
expertise on the ground in the countryside, absentee landlords (zamindars, in India),
small untenable plots, the profoundly counter-biological monoculture versus a far
more sustainable polyculture, the short-term hegemonies of multinational intellectual property right invasions, the chemical fallacies brought into the limelight by the
Green Revolution, and the use of hunger and civil unrest to further political interests
(as in the case of Bangladesh, 1974): all add to the inevitability of misery.
The fact that there is suffering on account of food, and innumerable instances
where farmers destroy their product during emergencies because of the breakdown
in distribution options, or the collapse of market prices, is more than merely tragic
irony. It is one of many paradoxes afflicting the fundamental (ethically proposed)
right of all organisms of every species to be able not to starve to death. Alas, from
the earliest recorded famines by the historians Livy, and Josephus, human suffering
has mirrored the equally vast torment endured by other domestic, farm, and wild
species (Fig. 46.1).
Hunger. Human Rights & the Global Economy eJournal. Social Science Research Network
(SSRN). K. von Grebmer, J. Bernstein, L. Hammond, F. Patterson, A. Sonntag, L. Klaus,
J. Fahlbusch, O. Towey, C. Foley, S. Gitter, K. Ekstrom, and H. Fritschel. 2018. 2018 Global
Hunger Index: Forced Migration and Hunger. Bonn and Dublin: Welthungerhilfe and Concern
Worldwide. See also, Patrick Webb, Gunhild Anker Stordalen, Sudhvir Singh, Ramani WijesinhaBettoni, Prakash Shetty, Anna Lartey (2018). “Hunger and malnutrition in the 21st century”. The
BMJ. 350: k2238. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2238. PMC 5996965. PMID 29898884.See
also, Joanna Rea (25 May 2012). “2012 G8 summit – private sector to the rescue of the world’s
poorest?”. The Guardian. See also, “Africa: Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) Leads
Transformation of Global Nutrition Agenda with $787 million Investment”. AllAfrica. 8 June
2013. See, K. von Grebmer, J. Bernstein, A. de Waal, N. Prasai, S. Yin, Y. Yohannes: 2015 Global
Hunger Index - Armed Conflict and the Challenge of Hunger. Bonn, Washington D. C., Dublin:
Welthungerhilfe, IFPRI, and Concern Worldwide. October 2015. See also, Lucy Lamble (15
October 2019). “Higher temperatures driving ‘alarming’ levels of hunger – report”. The Guardian.
See “Organizing for action” (PDF). FAO, 2011. See also, “How Blockchain Can Be Used to
Address Food Security in India,” by Javaid Sofi, December 11, 2018, MAHB. See “India
FoodBanking Network,” A Food Security Foundation India Initiative, https://www.indiafoodbanking.org/hunger; See India’s Food Security Problem,” by William Thomson, April 2, 2012, The
Diplomat, https://thediplomat.com/2012/04/indias-food-security-problem/Accessed April 27,
2020. See “How Blockchain Will Transform the Supply Chain And Logistics Industry,” by Bernard
Marr, Forbes, March 23, 2018. See “What is Blockchain?” Bernard Marr & Co., https://www.
bernardmarr.com/default.asp?contentID=1389, Accessed April 22, 2020.
46.3 A Continuing Crisis