A famine is a phenomenon in which a large percentage of the population of a region or country are so undernourished that death by starvation becomes increasingly common. In spite of the much greater technological and economic resources of the modern world, famine still strikes many parts of the world, mostly in the developing nations. Famine is associated with naturally-occurring crop failure and pestilence and artificially with war and genocide. In the past few decades, a more nuanced view focused on the economic and political circumstances leading to modern famine has emerged. Modern relief agencies categorize various gradations of famine according to a famine scale. A famine is a social and economic crisis that is commonly accompanied by widespread malnutrition, starvation, epidemic and increased mortality. ... A female child during the Nigerian-Biafran war of the late 1960s, shown suffering the effects of severe hunger and malnutrition. ... Farmlands in Hebei province, China. ... A pestilence is an epidemic or even a pandemic of a virulent and highly contagious disease. ... Look up war in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Genocide is the mass killing of a group of people as defined by Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or... Famine scales are the ways in which degrees of food security are measured, from situations in which an entire population has adequate food to full-scale famine. ...

Many areas that suffered famines in the past have protected themselves through technological and social development. The first area in Europe to eliminate famine was the Netherlands, which saw its last peacetime famines in the early-17th century as it became a major economic power and established a complex political organization. A prominent economist on the subject, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, has noted that no functioning democracy has ever suffered a famine. (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The Nobel Prizes (pronounced no-BELL or no-bell) are awarded annually to people who have done outstanding research, invented groundbreaking techniques or equipment, or made outstanding contributions to society. ... Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen CH (Hon) (Bengali: Ômorto Kumar Shen) (born 3 November 1933 in Santiniketan, India), is an Indian philosopher, economist and a winner of the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences (Nobel Prize for Economics) in 1998, for his work on famine, human development theory, welfare...

Approaches to famine response

"In his book on famine, Fred Cuny stated that "the chances of saving lives at the outset of a [relief] operation are greatly reduced when food is imported. By the time it arrives in the country and gets to people, many will have died." He goes on to say that "evidence suggests the massive food shipments sent to Ethiopia in 1985 had little impact on the outcome of the famine . . . and that by the time it arrived in sufficient, steady quantities in the rural areas, the death rate had peaked and was already declining."" - Andrew S. Natsios (Administrator U.S. Agency for International Development) Frederick C. Cuny (born November 14, 1944 in New Haven, Connecticut) was an American disaster relief specialist who was active in many humanitarian projects around the world from 1969 until his forced disappearance in Chechnya in 1995. ...

Cuny further pointed out "Studies of every recent famine have shown that food was available in-country — though not always in the immediate food deficit area. Usually, merchants begin hoarding food as a crisis develops — in conflicts, to keep it from being stolen, in famines, to get higher prices. Even though by local standards the prices are too high for the poor to purchase it, it would usually be cheaper for a donor to buy the hoarded food at the inflated price than to import it from abroad." from memorandum to former Representative Steve Solarz (D-NY) - July 1994.

The bulk of the world’s food aid is given to people in areas where poverty is endemic; or to people who has suffered due to a natural disaster other than famine (such as the Asian Tsunami victims), or have lost their crops due to conflicts (such as in the Darfur region of the Sudan). Only a small amount of food aid goes to people who are suffering as a direct consequence of famine.

Temporary therapeutic foods

Malnutrition is a medical condition, not just a lack of food. The bodies of severely malnourished children are unable to process regular food. Instead of being fed food such as rice or porridge, children are fed what are known as therapeutic foods for up to one month, or until their bodies are able to process traditional foods. There are three main types of therapeutic foods in use; these consist of powdered milk formulas named F-75 and F-100 and a ready-to-eat peanut paste named Plumpy'nut. F-75 and F-100 are formulated specifically for the severely malnourished and is to be used only under supervision. Plumpy’nut can be used at home without supervision. Percentage of population affected by malnutrition by country, according to United Nations statistics. ... Species Oryza glaberrima Oryza sativa Brown basmati rice Terrace of paddy fields in Yunnan Province, southern China. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Plumpynut wrapper Plumpynut, more commonly known as Plumpy, is a peanut-based food for use in famine relief which was formulated by André Briend, a French scientist in 1999. ...

• F-75 (phase 1 therapeutic milk) is a milk based powder mixed with water that is given to severely malnourished children when they first arrive for treatment. It is normally given for one to three days, in case of kwashiorkor it can be given for a maximum of seven days. It is not intended to cause the child to gain weight, but only to condition the body to digest food.

• F-100 (phase 2 therapeutic milk) is a milk based powder mixed with water. It contains more protein and calories than F-75 and is designed for rapid weight gain, so that the body can rebuild and be able to handle normal foods.

• Plumpy'nut: a ready-to-eat mixture of peanut paste, sugar, fats, minerals, and vitamins. This is the newest of the three, and is generally used as an alternative to using F-100.

Plumpy’nut has two main advantages over F-100: it comes in a ready-to-eat packet that requires no water or mixing; and it puts mothers in charge of feeding their own malnourished children in their own communities, rather than forcing them to always bring their malnourished children to hospitals or therapeutic feeding centers for assistance.

"Nutritionists for the first time can take treatment beyond crowded emergency feeding centers and hospitals settings, where disease can spread rapidly, and into communities where malnourished children live," - Wall Street Journal - referring to Plumpy’nut The Wall Street Journal is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with an average daily circulation of 1,800,607 (2002). ...

Celebrity famine relief

On August 1, 1971 Ex-Beatles member George Harrison enlisted the aid of fellow musicians Ravi Shankar, Bob Dylan and many more in a Concert at Madison Square Garden to raise money for Bangladesh famine relief. More than 40,000 people attended. August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ... The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music Musicians can be classified by their role in creating or performing music: A singer (or vocalist) uses his or her voice as an instrument. ... Pandit Ravi Shankar, Sitar Maestro © www. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is a Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. ... A classical music concert in the Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne 2005 A concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. ... Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, known colloquially simply as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City, United States. ...

In 1984 Irish musician Bob Geldof and Scottish Ultravox member Midge Ure organised a charity fundraiser record for the starving of Africa. Under the name of Band Aid, they collected together most of the singers then making the British pop charts and got them singing together on a charity single called "Do They Know It's Christmas?" The pair followed up with re-recordings of the song, with different groups of musicians, in 1989 and 2004 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof, KBE[1], known as Bob Geldof (born 5 October 1951) [2] is an Irish singer, songwriter, actor and political activist. ... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic, Scots3 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  -  First Minister Jack McConnell... Ultravox were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the early 1980s. ... Midge Ure OBE (born James Ure on October 10, 1953 in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a rock and roll guitarist, singer and songwriter from Scotland, who had particular success in the 1970s and 1980s. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... Cover art for the original release of Do They Know Its Christmas? – artist Peter Blake Band Aid was a British and Irish charity supergroup, founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the record Do They... Cover art for the original Do They Know Its Christmas? release – artist Peter Blake Do They Know Its Christmas? is a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 specifically to raise money for Ethiopian famine relief. ...

The following year, 1985, Geldof and Ure followed up their success with a large-scale concert: Live Aid. This led to other fundraising famine relief projects such as Sport Aid and Comic Relief. 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ethiopia, as its borders were in 1985. ... Sport Aid (also known as Sports Aid) was a charitable event held on May 25, 1986, raising millions of pounds to support famine relief in Africa, and is the sporting event with the most participants in history. ... Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character or scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. ...

The success of this single was followed by several other 1985 celebrity ensemble songs benefiting famine relief, including American group USA for Africa ("We Are the World"), the Canadian Northern Lights ("Tears Are Not Enough"), and the heavy metal group Hear 'n Aid ("Stars"). USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa), was the name under which forty-five U.S. artists, led by Harry Belafonte, Kenny Rogers, Michael Jackson, and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single We Are the World in 1985. ... We Are the World is a 1985 song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, produced and conducted by Quincy Jones and recorded by a supergroup of popular musicians billed as USA for Africa. ... Northern Lights was the name used by the supergroup of Canadian musicians who were gathered by the music talent manager Bruce Allen in 1985 to record the single Tears Are Not Enough. Like Band Aid (who recorded Do They Know Its Christmas? in 1984) and USA For Africa (who... For the song by ABC, see Tears Are Not Enough (ABC song). ... Logo of the Hear n Aid project Hear n Aid was a joint effort from the heavy metal scene of the 80s to raise money for famine relief in Africa. ...

Modern relief

Today, the Peace Corps, Christian groups, and charities feed hungry people all over the world, especially in countries hardest hit by famine. In addition to giving them food, they teach the hungry to grow their own food crops, so that they can feed themselves. In some environments (such as the desert, rocky areas, or cold wastelands) farming is difficult to impossible. Such land is called unarable. This is why famine repeats in those areas. New methods have been invented to grow food crops in these difficult areas. These new methods include: nitrogen fertilizer, hybrid food crops, digging wells, reverse osmosis water processors to turn salty ocean water into fresh water, greenhouses, hydroponics, canal digging, dirt hill walls stacking for protection against wind and dust, mylar insulation, and sustainable agriculture. Peace Corps volunteers usually serve for 27 months. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ... In geography, arable land is a form of agricultural land use, meaning land that can be (and is) used for growing crops. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... Spreading manure, an organic fertilizer Fertilizers (British English fertilisers) are compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either via the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves. ... // This article is about a biological term. ... Reverse osmosis is a separation process that uses pressure to force a solvent through a membrane that retains the solute on one side and allows the pure solvent to pass to the other side. ... A greenhouse in Saint Paul, Minnesota. ... Hydroponics is the growing of plants without soil. ... Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming communities. ...

See also

• Famine, Affluence, and Morality
• Food security
• Food and Agriculture Organization

Famine, Affluence, and Morality is an essay written by Peter Singer in 1971 covering the moral obligation of the affluent to donate some of their money to famine relief. ... Subsistence farmers with a Treadle Pump. ... The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. ...

External links

• Oxfam Home Page
• Oxfam International
• Reliefweb
• Band Aid
• Live Aid commemorative webpage
• Unofficial Live Aid website
• Unofficial American Live 8 website
• Comic Relief
• Red Nose Day
• Comic Relief America
• Oneworld
• Fairtrade