Allen,AmonandGutschick1

CharlotteAllen,CassidyAmonandSiannaGutschick
Ms.Agar
EnglishIIHonors
15November2016
AppetenceofTheKingdomintheSky
Anagonizingsymphonyofgrowlingstomachssoundsinv illagesthroughoutAfricaas
theremembranceoffutilelaborbitterlylingersinthemindsofthevillagers.Themajorityof
Africansdevotetheirlivestofarmingandagriculture,butfewbenefitasstarvationravishesthe
continent.ThoughthemajorityofAfricaseconomyisbasedonagriculture,thefoodcrisis
resultsfromabroadspectrumofcausessuchaspoverty,climate,anddisease.Starvationisa
globalissue,butspecificallyinAfrica,itcontinuestotakethelivesofmanywhilelittleto
nothingisbeingdonetopreventithowever,therearemanyviablesolutionsofferedforthis
problem.
ThecontinentofAfricaischaoticintermsofitsgovernmentalbodies.Thisleadssome
expertstobelievethatthemaincauseofthefoodcrisisinAfricaisduetopoormanagement
(Morgon).ThisfactcannotonlybeseeninthefoodcrisisinAfrica,butalsointhewealthofthe
country.41%ofthepeoplelivinginsubSaharanAfricaliveonlessthanoneU.S.dollarevery
day(Riley).ThismakesitdifficultformanyAfricanstoevenacquirefoodstuffs.Apartfromthe
monetaryshortcomingsaidedbythefaultygovernment,infrastructureisalsolackingonthe
continent.Thereareoftennoreliablepathwaysforgettingthatfoodfromthefieldsintothe
handsofthepeoplewhon eeditthemost(Riley).Withoutroadstotransportthefoodfromthe
farmstothepeople,thecontinentwillcontinuetosufferfromstarvation.Whilethegovernments

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ofAfricancountriesareworkingtosolvetheissueofstarvation,thelegislaturesarefightingan
uphillbattle.Onaverage,Africaspopulationisincreasingatabout3%perannum
(Britannica).Solvingtheissueofstarvationisnoeasytask,butitisonethattheleadersof
Africaarechallengedtoresolveforthegoodofitspeople.
WhiletheleadersofAfricacontinuetostriveforaresolution,theworkingpopulationis
doingtheirparttochipawaytheproblemaswell. Themajorityo ftheworkingpopulation
engagesineithersubsistenceagricultureorintheproductionofcashcrops( Britannica).
Subsistenceagriculture,specifically,iscurrentlythemaincombatanttostarvationinthecountry.
However,cropfailureandpovertyleavepeoplevulnerabletostarvation( Famine)whichis
whatisoccurringallacrossthecontinent.WhiletheoverallclimateofAfricaisfavorableto
crops,theseasonsofgrowthareshortandgettingshorter.Thesituationhasbeenexacerbatedin
countriesinthemarginaldrylandzones,wheretheincreasingfrequencyofdroughtconditions
haveu nderminedagriculturalproductivity( Britannica).Withtheproductionofagriculture
hinderedbytheclimate,Africanswillcontinuetostrugglewithstarvation.
Unfortunately,thecropsthatAfricansareabletoproduceareofteneithernotinalarge
enoughquantityornotprovidingthepropernutrients.Diseaseshavereducedcropproductivity,
spoiledharvests,andactedasacurbonthebetterintegrationoflanduseandontheextensionof
pastoralismandmixedfarmingintounderusedareas( Britannica).Diseaseshavegreatly
hinderedtheproductionoffoodinAfrica.Theynotonlyaffectthevegetationandcrops,butalso
thelivestock.Ifotheranimalspreyuponlivestockthensaidlivestockissusceptibletodiseases
fromthatanimal. InAfrica,thereisahugefocusonyieldingstaplecropssuchasmaize,wheat,
cassava,andricealthoughthesecropsareimportantforimprovingfoodsecurity,theycannot

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curemalnutritionalone( Ending).Thisisamajorreasonwhythemajorityofthecontinentis
malnourished.Inordertopreventmalnourishment,countriesmusteitherimportvastquantities
offoodorgrowdifferenttypesoffoodthanthosetypicallysupportedbytheclimate.Vegetables
areamajorcombatanttomalnutrition,butnocountryhasfocusedonvegetableproduction
(Ending).Withoutfocusonkeyfoodgroups,Africawillremaingenerallymalnourished.
Starvationitselfcomeswithtroublingeffectsthathavecontinuedtodevastatethelivesof
millionsofmen,women,andchildrenthroughouttheworld,butspecificallyAfrica.Citizensall
overthecontinentarestrugglingforthegivenrightofnutritionandareattemptingtokeeptheir
belovedchildrenalive.ThestarvationeffectsinAfricaarenumerous,butthetwoeffectsthat
arecontinuouslyravishingthecommunitiesareMalnourishmenta ndFoodDeprivation.A
researchcompanyinAfricaestimatedin2011that31millionchildren,or45percentofthe
childrenborn,deathswerecausedduetomalnourishmentduetodeprivationoftheessential
vitaminsZincandVitaminA(World).Starvationtakesitsgreatesttollonchildrenfortheyare
atthegreatestriskofstarvationduetotheirgrowingbodiesneedingZincandVitaminA.While
thisstatisticisshockinglyhigh,itprovesthatalmost50percentofchildrenborndieduetotheir
lackofnourishment.Inthesamestudy,itwasfoundthatduetotheextremeundernutritionof
Africans,theundernutritionmagnifiestheeffectofcommondiseasessuchasDiarrhea(61%),
Malaria(57%),Pneumonia(52%),andMeasles(45%)(World).Whilethesediseasesare
horribleenoughasis,whenpairedwiththeseveremalnourishmentofAfricancitizenstheyare
consideredverylethal.M
alnourishmenthasledmen,women,andover31millionchildrenper
yearstraightintoagravedepartingfromtheirfamiliesattheexpenseofacommonalitytakenfor
grantedincountriessuchastheUnitedStates.

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AsthecitizensofAfricaareriskingtheirlivesovergettingthenecessaryfoodtosurvive,
thecontinentitselfcannotprovidetheneededamountsoffoodtoeveryonethatinhabitsits
borders.Africacannotsupporttheamountofdyingpeoplethatarecurrentlyscrappingforbitsof
foodtoavoidthecertaindeathofmalnourishment.War,droughts,famine,andstarvationhave
beenf amiliartoAfricansforgenerations.Rightnow,14millionAfricansdonthaveenough
foodtosurvive( Morgan).These14millionpeoplearemen,women,andchildrenarenot
gettingthenecessaryfoodtheyneedtosurvivebecausetheycantaccessthefood.Thehigh
demandoffoodforallpeoplelivinginAfrica,thefightforfoodisstreamingacrossthecontinent
whichleaveslittletononfoodformostpeopleinAfrica.Whilesomepeopledohaveaccessto
thefoodthattheyneedtosurvive,theydonothavetheamountoffundstoaffordtofeedtheir
familiesaswellasbuyresourcesthatareimportantforsurvival( Riley).Eventhericherpeople
thatliveinAfrica,whichisnotconsideredrichbyanymeanstous,cannotaffordtobuyfood
andresourcesthatareneededtosurviveeverydaylife.Withthisbeingsaid,thefamiliesthat
havea ccesstofoodandhavemoneywillhavetochoosebetweenresourcesorfoodahard
decisiontomakeforanyfamily.Asmentionedbefore,inastudywhenaskingurbanareas,they
foundthatmillionsuponmillionsofAfricanscannotfindfoodwhenitavailable,theycannot
affordit( Morgan).ThepoorandmalnourishedAfricansdonotevenhaveaccesstonatural
resourcesforfood.Theyarepoorandleftwithoutprovisions.Starvationhasnotonlystricken
manyAfricanswithhunger,buthasalsodecreasedtheamountofavailablefoodsourcesforthe
continentasawholemakingithardertofindandbeabletobuysourcesoffood.
Despitethemultipleofferedsolutions,starvationisstillap rominentproblemthatsweeps
acrosstheAfricancontinent.T
herearemanyprogramstobringfoodintoAfricatohelpthe

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Allen,AmonandGutschick5
millionsofhungrymen,womenandchildren.Citizensandscientistsareworkingextremelyhard
tocreatenewwaystoprovidemorenutritiousfoodsforAfricans. Over20%ofhouseholdsdo
notgettherecommendedcalorieintakeonadailybasisandover30%ofpeopleareinastateof
malnutrition.Thereareovertwodeathsper10,00peopledaily.(Famine).Foodaidprograms
aroundtheworldarehelpingfightstarvationanddecreasethosepercentagesinmanydifferent
ways.ActionAgainsthungeraidsinnutrition,foodsecurity,water,sanitation,andhygiene.
Theseorganizationscollectdatatofigureoutthekeyreasonsformalnutritionoutbreaksinan
area.Totreatseverecasesofmalnutritiontheyuseinpatientcareandcommunitybased,
outpatientprograms(Programs).Inordertotrulyunderstandandhelpsolveworldhunger,
programssuchasActionAgainstHungerhavetolookattherootoftheissueandassessitto
makeadifference.
Africaisdeprivedfromtheessentialneedsofnutritiousfoodsthatareneededtosurvive.
Thes taplecropsinAfricadonothavelargenutritionalvalues,makingithardtofindsubstantial
foodthatwillsucceedinendingworldhunger( Ending).Scientistarecreatingnewwaysto
plantandproducemorenutritiousfoodsinAfrica.Lowincomefamiliesthatliveincitiesare
affectedbystarvationduetothefactthattherearenoplacestoplantorproducetheirownfood.
Thisforcesthemtorelyonfoodthatisbroughtintothecity,whichmostcannotafford.Almost
onequarterofundernourishedpeopleliveinanurbanenvironment.Recently,therehasbeena
bigpushforurbanfarming.Urbanfarmingempowersfamiliestogaincontrolovertheirown
foodsource(10).UrbanFarmingisaresourcefulwayofbringingmorefoodproductioninto
citiesthatneedit.Now,lowincomefamiliesorunemployedfamilieshavebetteraccesstofood
becausetheyarenowabletogrowitincitysettings.E
venifwepushforwardwithallofthe

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innovatingideasbroughtu p,starvationonaglobalscaleissomassivethatworldhungerwill
mostlikelyneverend.
Starvationisaglobalproblemthatcontinuestodevastatetheworld,inadditiontothe
continentofAfrica,throughtheunfedmouthsofmillionsofmen,womenandchildren,buthope
lieswithinthefuture.Throughthecountlesscausesofstarvationfromclimateanddiseaseto
managementandpopulation,Africahasfoundwaystocontinueon.Thecontinenthasstruggled
throughmalnourishmentandfooddeprivation,buthasagainfoundwaystocarryon.N
ow,
AfricalookstothefuturethroughplanslikeurbanfarmingandorganizationslikeActions
AgainstHungertoridthecontinentofstarvation.

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WorksCited
"BritannicaSchool".School.Eb.Com,2016.Web.08Nov.2016.
"EndingHungerInAfrica|WorldwatchInstitute".Worldwatch.org.N.p.,2016.Web.8Nov.
2016.
"FamineandHunger."WorldVision.N.p.,n.d.Web.08Nov.2016.
"FamineInSomalia:CausesAndSolutions|OxfamInternational".Oxfam.Org,2016.Web.08
Nov.2016.
Morgan,TimothyC.,andIsaacPhiri."Hungerisn'thistory:theworldproducesmorefoodthan
ever.Sowhydonearlyabillionpeoplestillnothaveenoughtoeat?"ChristianityToday,
Nov.2008,p.26+.StudentEdition,
Riley,Walter."WorldHunger."Causes,Effects,Solutions,WorldHungerAssociation,
"10WaystoStopWorldHunger."TheBorgenProjectRSS2.N.p.,2016.Web.08Nov.2016.
"ActionAgainstHungerLogo."Programs.N.p.,n.d.Web.9Nov.2016.

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Outline
I.

Introduction
A. Hook
B. Transition
C. Thesis

II.

1stBodyParagraph:Causes
A. Management
1. Transportation
2. Poverty
B. Climate
1. Productivity
2. Efficiency
C. Disease
1. Nourishment
2. Safety

III.

2ndBodyParagraph:Effects
A. MalnourishmentinChildren
1. IncreasedDeathRates
2. MoreDiseaseStricken
B. FoodDeprivation
1. Lessfoodavailable
2. Unaffordable

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IV.

3rdBodyParagraph:Solutions
A. FoodAidPrograms
1. Decreasetherateofstarvation
B. ScientificDiscoveriesandAdvancements
1. Advancementsinnewwaytoshrinkstarvation

V.

Solutions
A. RevisionofThesis
B. Transition
C. LookTowardtheFuture

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