Global Justice
The Neo-Malthusian argument:
World hunger is caused by overpopulation
Food production cannot keep up, even with great technology.
Too poor to buy the food, and too overpopulated to grow enough.
Most of the misery, hunger and poverty happens there.
At current rate, it will be misery for all.
Countries cannot sufficiently control their population growth rates
Population doubles every 35 years and triples every 55 years.
Even the ones that succeeded as Bangladesh will double in 30.
Therefore feeding those in developing countries will produce great harm.
The Humanitarian argument:
Life is intrinsically valuable.
‘Complete justice, complete catastrophe.” (Robert Watson)
Affluent nations have the resources to eliminate hunger.
23,000 die daily from malnutrition
Suffering and misery is bad, if it is in our power to prevent it, without sacrificing anything, we ought, morally, to act.
There is enough food for all. (Food and Agriculture Organization 2002, FAO 1998)
Therefore, we are obliged to prevent evil whenever we can, and whenever doing so does not harm us
The Developmentalist argument:
Political and economic decisions are the causes of poverty.
Poverty causes hunger.
If rich nations contribute to the effort, poverty can be eliminated
$60 billion a year cuts global poverty in half by 2015.
$165 billion a years goes to U.S. military contractors. (US Bureau of International Organization Affairs, July 15, 1997
The economic development of poor countries will eliminate world hunger.
They adhere to Confucius’ proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish and he will be fed for life.”
The economic vitality of a wealthy nation, depend on a healthy international economy.
Therefore, the economic development of poor countries will benefit both rich and poor alike.
http://www.mnforsustain.org/hardin_g_living_on_a_lifeboat.htm (Life Boat Theory)
http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/richard.robbins/legacy/population_readings.htm
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=217102005 (Population)
http://www.duke.edu/web/ddha/geopolitics/Geopolitics-of-Hunger.htm
http://www.pej.org/html/print.php?sid=1635 (The ecology of hunger)
http://www.landreform.org/wp6.htm (Dependency on food aids.)
http://costofwar.com/ (Cost comparison)