Recitation Exercise 5:

Why does world hunger persist?

This is the single ESSAY exercise in this class, so give it due attention and carefully craft a well-written response. It is worth more points than most other exercises and should not be skipped! (se below for guidelines and ideas on essay writing)

The Essay:

Both environmental and social factors are cited in causing famines and malnutrition. Yet, as the text points out in sec. 8.6, in most years the global food production is larger than that needed to adequately feed the human population, while up to a billion people are chronically malnourished.

Why?

You should touch on each of these themes in your essay:

1. Who is undernourished? Where?

2. What social causes have been offered for this?

3. What environmental causes have been offered for this?

4. What do you think the prospects are for overcoming social and/or environmental causes of hunger as the human population grows?

5. What changes in policy, society, and technology would be needed to assure sufficient nutrition to all people?

Sources: one of the best websites to start this research is: http://nutrition.tufts.edu/academic/hungerweb/

For more environmental arguments, try: http://www.worldwatch.org/topics/people/food/

You’ll find a lot more on the web! But the challenge is to sift through and put together your own, coherent thoughts on the long-term causes of, and prospects for reducing, hunger in the world.

Essay Writing Guidelines:

Expressing yourself clearly and well in written form is important to your professional development and success, so give this effort due attention. We will grade it on substantive content (the facts and arguments you offer) and writing (grammar and style). Limit your essay to two-pages, double-spaced, normal font (this would be about 550-600 words, you might go over to a third page, but do so only if you are not repeating yourself; and go no further!). No handwritten essays, please. Draw on discussion in recitation, the text, and outside sources (which on this topic are plentiful). Cite any material that you draw from or quote in some standard citation fashion. Carefully adhere to the university’s plagiarism policy. Be sure to put your name, student number, and recitation instructor's name at the top of the essay.

Hints for writing essays: plan ahead, outline it, use simple structure like: intro or thesis statement, argument, and conclusion. Draft it first, edit, then re-draft.