What did you learn about dietary choices from using the footprint calculator? Now imagine that you could translate what you learned into an effective societal policy on food- what would it be? And how would this policy effect the need to alleviate world hunger?
925 million people on earth do not have enough to eat according to the FAO [Food and Agricultural Organization]. That's almost 1 in 7 inhabitants of our planet!
Food & Hunger >
Long Term vs. Short Term
Many of the posts I have seen only talk about a short term or a long term fix for this problem, so I want to compare the two. The long term would require a huge part of our countries population to pitch in. If we all stopped spending as much on food, and only bough only the necessities, we could help solve hunger by crippling certain industries. This would also need people protesting, and getting the point across, but basically we would be boycotting certain companies that use too much packaging, or are cruel to animals, or that waste food. This would help the environment, and also help lower food costs, making it easier for everyone to get food. For short term, I found out that "Roughly 50 percent of all produce in the United States is thrown away—some 60 million tons (or $160 billion)" I think that a short term solution for the issue of hunger in our society is to decide what you need, and spend the money you saved on helping those who can't help themselves. If only a small population are willing to help, then the food we don't buy will stay on the shelf, and probably end up as waste anyway. If we use the money we buy on food we don't need to buy for people who do need it, and won't waste it. This way, we can make a difference without needing to get all 350 million people involved, but the long term would ultimately be better if we could get the people to do it, because it would mean that the people supported by the short term fix would be able to support themselves.
I think this is a really interesting insight. However, while I do see the value in a short term solution, I think short-term thinking is largely the cause of our current situation. While it is important to address the current problem at hand and make sure we don't fall into an irreversible situation by thinking too far ahead, I believe we can convince people that the short-term sacrifices are worth the long-term benefits. We have to believe in people's abilities and desire to make positive change. I think the solutions you proposed such as boycotting companies whose practices are harmful to the environment are smart and viable. According to The Conversation "Campaigns and boycotts get the attention of these large corporations, because they hit them where it hurts: their reputation and market share." Our society needs to convey the message that we as consumers demand environmentally friendly products.
Source: http://theconversation.com/boycotts-are … irms-25267