Human
Carrying Capacity
and World Hunger 3
A Few Solutions to the Problem
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What can we do now?
Populations of man at carrying capacity are unstable. There is an increase in diseases, a decrease in social tolerance, fierce power struggles, as well as increases in low-birth weight, problem pregnancies, and infant mortality--conditions that are reflected in the animal kingdom, too.
The human species, however, is unique in that so much of our environmental niche is cultural so that both politics and economics can force hunger on a group of people.
The metaphor of earth as an island encourages us to think of hunger in Africa and other underdeveloped areas as a carrying capacity problem. Feeding the world's impoverished peoples is not exactly a biological issue as much as a political issue: there is food, but distributing it to the needy is difficult to do. Some regions on earth have reached the carrying capacity for the area, but the people need not be isolated from other areas where food is plentiful.
Unfortunately, the impoverished regions are politically separated from the food resources. Today, feeding these peoples has become a mission of organizations such as the UN and international charities. (Links to some.)
UNICEF, an organization of the UN, sells cards and other items to gather proceeds for the charitable work it does. I invite you to visit a UNICEF Store on this website.
Heifer International is another charity that feeds the poor. Uniquely, this organization provides families with farm animals that can be raised for food or for sale to support the family, animals such as oxen, milk cows, chicken and more. Sustainability is the goal.
"I found out about this marvelous work and had the honor of narrating the video Legacy for Efrain. One of the kids in that video - Beatrice Biira - has a new life because of the gift of one goat and there is even a best selling children's book written about her. Heifer Project and I are a good match . . . . because I love animals . . . I love people . . . and I want to be sure that we have green spaces, clean air, clean water and enough food, not only for today, but way off in the future." — Edward Asner, Actor
More comments about Heifer International
"Heifer is unique in its program to directly aid people around the world. ... With this project you get a much greater sense of a person-to-person relationship, which is very important." — Walter Cronkite, former managing editor and anchor of the CBS evening news
"I have long been proud of the fine work of Heifer International." — President Jimmy Carter
"What I like best about Heifer Project is that it is not only saving lives, but also making lives independent at the same time." — Scott Glenn, stage, screen and film actor
Heifer International Curricular Materials
for Elementary and Middle School Students
 Children Reading to Fight World Hunger |
and for upper elementary and middle school grades:
Visit the sites for interactive online activities, too.
Heifer's Mission to End Hunger
Heifer envisions…
A world of communities living together in peace and equitably sharing the
resources of a healthy planet.
Heifer’s mission is…
To work with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the
earth.
Heifer's strategy is…
To “pass on the gift.” As people share their animals’ offspring
with others – along with their knowledge, resources, and skills – an
expanding network of hope, dignity, and self-reliance is created that reaches
around the globe.
Heifer’s History
This simple idea of giving families a source of food rather than short-term
relief caught on and has continued for over 60 years. Today, millions
of families in 128 countries have been given the gifts of self-reliance
and hope.
Keep reading--
What is the Carrying
Capacity if Limited by Hunger? page
1
What Signals that Carrying Capacity
has been Reached? page
2
Read about global warming Essays 1, 2
Here are a few links that offer more information about feeding the citizens of the world in various locations.
A list of other sites from HI
Food and Society: a Kellog Foundation
try this page at the Kellog site
Read about the policies and efforts of UNESCO.
Christian Children's Fund
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Are genetically modified foods vital to ending world hunger and reducing pollution, or will "Frankenfoods" ruin health and provoke environmental disaster? NOVA and FRONTLINE investigate the perils and potential of genetic modification. Biotech scientists can already manipulate code, but critics fear toxic or allergenic effects-or genes from engineered plants overwhelming older species and creating strains of "superweeds" and "superbugs." |
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The Centers for Disease Control recently noted that a single fast-food hamburger contained beef from more than 100 cows. FRONTLINE investigates the meat industry and the safety of U.S. meat supplies. Meat production has become a highly mechanized, centralized industry, changing both the way meat is produced and the way Americans eat, while new U.S. Department of Agriculture meat inspection procedures give greater control to the meat industry. |
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