Food Insecurity

Food Insecurity in different countries

Food insecurity in the US and UK versus India and Pakistan are two different things which cannot be compared on the same level. The UK and US are both counted as first world countries and this puts their standards of poverty on a different level compared to India and Pakistan. The UK and US have higher literacy rates than India and Pakistan, which causes this difference in poverty. In the video we watched in class about the US, the reason for poverty had a lot to do with the economic meltdown. Many people lost jobs and due to this, they could not live their lavish lifestyles again or even normal ones. The video also showed two arguments and the first one was that the quality of food for cheap prices was very bad and therefore many people become obese, and the second argument was that people wouldn’t know where their next meal would come from. On the other hand, the video of Pakistan and India showed that food insecurity existed because of a lack of education. People would try to earn money anyway they could to sustain their families just to put food on the table. Due to earning small amounts of money like this, people would forgo education and this would also be the fate of the children. In places like India and Pakistan there are not many food shelters and food is very scarce as compared to the UK and US. In the US the food shelter is open 5 times a week and many people can get the food they need, unlike in a place like India where people die of starvation.

"A Further Attack on PDS" by Madhura Swaminathan

Bias: The author basically goes against the government and its corruption and stands with the Public Distribution System and the people who have food insecurity.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to show evidence and go against the government and show disinterest on its side. She is trying to make the point that food insecurity is something that is very important and that it should be taken more seriously.

Argument: The main argument is about the people below poverty line (BPL) and how families with low income get pushed into this bracket and how the amount of grains received for the poorest families. She also argues about how increasing prices of the grain will make the country more insecure and that the government should actually do something to help get rid of this problem. One way is by the government being guided by those who are poor so they can help the people out there and the food economy and the Public Distribution System.

“Fighting for food insecurity in India” by Biraj Swain

Bias: The author of this article simply takes the side of those who are food insecure.

Purpose: The author doesn’t really put down any solutions but just talks about what the government has done trying to help and what it has done. He also gives a few views of different people and what their solutions are.

Argument: Though the government is working on reducing food insecurity, he states that there are different ways of calculating it. He also talks about how the global climate affects these people.

Evidence and Discrepancies between "A Further Attack on PDS" and "Fighting for Food Security in India"

1.     Both articles talk about how much grain there is but being hidden. Like in the first one by Swaminathan she says 45.5 million and Swain says 60 million tones.

2.     The first article said that India tried to sell grain to foreigners but never said who or where this came from.

3.     The second article talked about the supreme court taking action against the government stating the importance of food insecurity.

4.     The first article also stated that 47% of children between 0 and 4 are malnourished.

5.     It also said that 48.5% of adults were also malnourished between 1993 and 1994.

6.     The first article also talked about how the price for below poverty line people increased by 68% and how for the people above poverty line it was only 29%.

7.     Both authors also agreed that there are better ways of dealing with food insecurity.