Human Carrying Capacity and World Hunger 3
A Few Solutions to the Problem  

Articles & Lessons >> Green Topics >> Series: Human Carrying Capacity 1-3 >> HCC island>> HCC limits>> HCC solutions

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. Children collect for Unicef when trick-or-treating for Halloween--or anytime their mentors organize a fundraiser drive. These contributions are used by UNESCO to assist children worldwide with food, clothing, medical care and schooling.

Heifer International is a 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.

What Would You Do if You Had Extra Livestock?

What if you had a chance to give chickens, sheep, goats, or cattle to the poor so that they could have a constant supply of wool, meat, eggs and milk. Would you take that chance? Several charities today allow you to donate money to "buy" an animal for the poor. You can even "buy" a percentage of an animal if you do not have enough for an entire animal yourself.

Heifer International is one such charity. Solar Cooking International is another organization that supports economic sustainability with its programs. The underlying principle behind the giving of a solar cooker or an animal, alongside training, friendship networks, and support services, is this: Give a man a fish, and he can eat for a day; teach a man to fish, and he can eat for a lifetime. (Do you know the actual quote I have paraphrased? Most Americans do.)

Supporters have this to say about Heifer International

"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

"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:

GET IT

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 Essays1, 2

Links concerning Feeding People

• 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
• Solar Cooking International
• 
  Get the podcasts of Push 2005, including PUSH-Ethan Zuckerman on globalization.

Books and Media on the Topic from Various Sponsors
	a list of books on human carrying capacity from Amazon.com a list of books on famine from Amazon.com books from UNICEF from Amazon.com
Harvest of Fear: A Frontline/NOVA Special (VHS)   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."
Frontline: Modern Meat (VHS) 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.