hunger sociological connections
how can hunger be analyzed with the socialization theory?
“Basic health and nutrition services remain out of reach for most children in South Sudan” (Unicef, 2015).
Socialization can represent this quote because maybe families in South Sudan conform to not having sufficient food since not a lot of people have access to it unless they are powerful and wealthy people. This may also lead us to the fact that maybe agents of socialization such as friends and family teach the children a culture of food waste. Based on the theory of socialization, this new behavior might be explained by the fact that it has been taught by role models or authorities. Socialization might also argue that children are suffering food famine (the widespread scarcity of food) because they have not been taught how to effectively grow food themselves or use try other jobs such as fishing instead of waiting for people to bring them food from international market forces.
This theory might also be represented by socialization because maybe the infants have been taught that since they are living in the developing world then not a lot of opportunities of having a better economy might show up.
“One third of all food produced (1.3 billion tons) is never consumed. This food wastage represents a missed opportunity to improve global food security in a world where one in 8 is hungry,” (WFP 2015).
“Each year 1.3bn tonnes of food, about a third of all that is produced, is wasted, including about 45% of all fruit and vegetables, 35% of fish and seafood, 30% of cereals, 20% of dairy products and 20% of meat. [...] In developing countries there are high levels of what is known as “food loss”, which is unintentional wastage, often due to poor equipment, transportation and infrastructure. In wealthy countries, there are low levels of unintentional losses but high levels of “food waste”, which involves food being thrown away by consumers because they have purchased too much, or by retailers who reject food because of exacting aesthetic standards” (The Guardian 2015).
These two quotes show socialization. Since most of the food wastage occurs in developed countries, the people there are accustomed to have a high quality life. Plenty of parents there, spoil their children which later on leads to citizens wasting food. Since these wealthy people believe that they can buy anything, they do so. Plenty of times, that food rottens overtime and they throw it away. This crowd believes that they are too important to help those in need or they simply don’t care about the matter. The amount of citizens in developing countries that give food to those in need instead of wasting it, is minuscule. Overall, this data proves socialization since parents spoil their children and they grow up to buy plenty of food to waste most of it.
"[...]about one-third of all food produced worldwide, worth around US$1 trillion, gets lost or wasted in food production and consumption systems," (World Food Day 2015).
People that have easy access to food, waste food because their parents teach them that they can buy whatever they want, and that they can throw away the food they don't like or has gotten rotten. Some parents do teach us better things. For example, eating everything we buy because we have the privilege of receiving food while some people lack of this access. Other parents teach us that if we don’t want anymore food or we are full, we should just give it to a poor we found on the street. A large quantity of parents teach us that we can’t give money to the people that look poor because they use that money to buy drugs or some similar stuff. Since these parents often live in dangerous countries, they say that we cannot give them money. This is because they want to protect their child from doing drugs or even being involved with people that do drugs.
"[...]about one-third of all food produced worldwide, worth around US$1 trillion, gets lost or wasted in food production and consumption systems," (World Food Day 2015).
People that have easy access to food, waste food because their parents teach them that they can buy whatever they want, and that they can throw away the food they don't like or has gotten rotten. Some parents do teach us better things. For example, eating everything we buy because we have the privilege of receiving food while some people lack of this access. Other parents teach us that if we don’t want anymore food or we are full, we should just give it to a poor we found on the street. A large quantity of parents teach us that we can’t give money to the people that look poor because they use that money to buy drugs or some similar stuff. Since these parents often live in dangerous countries, they say that we cannot give them money. This is because they want to protect their child from doing drugs or even being involved with people that do drugs.
How can hunger be analyzed with the functionalism theory?
“WFP works with associations to ensure the food provision for several schools, and designs the menus with the school staff and parents. Once delivered, the school staff validates the quantity and quality of the products brought by the small farmers.In the school kitchen, parents take turns to cook nutritious foods from fruits and vegetables brought to the school every Monday morning for the week´s lunch menus. Like the students and parents, the farmers are also members of indigenous communities,” (WFP 2015).
This evidence can be explained with the theory of functionalism. This is because parents and indigenous communities are all helping to give children the proper food at school. All of the helpers contribute to one cause and therefore work together to stop hunger. This common cause can help various communities to unite and face the problems that affect everyone. Also, the food that has been provided to these children by adults will help them overcome hunger and have higher chances for a better life. The role of the parents and communities is important since they are giving children the proper food which eventually leads to better mental activities. After that, the child can be more successful, obtain a job that fulfills all necessities, and survive. Overall, the role of the parents and indigenous communities trying to overcome hunger, help children be more successful in life.
How can hunger be analyzed with the conflict theory?
“In Warrap state alone, 26,000 children are thought to be acutely malnourished,” (Unicef, 2015). This quote can be represented by conflict theory because of the poverty cycle. Statistics affirm that a child born with a poor family has less chances of succeeding and getting out of this cycle. If a family doesn’t have the enough incomes to supply a child with food then the child doesn’t have any other option else than starvation. Conflict theory might also explain this quote because if a lot of children are starving and someone brings food that isn’t enough for everyone they are probably going to start fighting which could lead to other problems in the future or those who don’t receive it might face problems that could lead to death considering that a child is much more weak than an adult. |
Villagers from the Dadinga tribe fight for food after it was distributed.
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“People living in poverty cannot afford nutritious food for themselves and their families. This makes them weaker and less able to earn the money that would help them escape poverty and hunger. [...] this can affect their future income, condemning them to a life of poverty and hunger,” and “One third of all food produced (1.3 billion tons) is never consumed. This food wastage represents a missed opportunity to improve global food security in a world where one in 8 is hungry,” and last, but not least, “Across the globe, conflicts consistently disrupt farming and food production. Fighting also forces millions of people to flee their homes, leading to hunger emergencies as the displaced find themselves without the means to feed themselves. The conflict in Syria is a recent example,” (WFP, 2015).
One of the many causes of hunger is the tons of food wasted. This quote can be explained by the conflict theory because the people that carry more power than other people, have the ability to purchase food, and a vast quantity of those, send the food to waste, knowing that one in eight people are hungry. The poorer people aren’t able to afford food for their families, so the differing amounts of resources between the wealthy and the poor is abused, and ends up in food being wasted, and people suffering from hunger. Conflict theory might also explain this statistic, because as a response to the conflict in Syria, millions of people have suffered from hunger. This may be due to the fact that, in the rush to flee their homes to get to a safe place, people can’t find the means to feed themselves- this leads to hunger emergencies. Hunger is also used as a war tactic; soldiers destroy their opponent’s food ammunition and contaminating their water sources, which forces them to leave. One last reason, out of an infinite amount, of why there is hunger, is the poverty cycle. Someone is born in an already poor family, who are going through hunger. Baby doesn’t get food, so he develops malnutrition and possibly mortal diseases, so he can’t work, making the family be less able to earn the money needed to but nutritious food, or any food at all. This results in a never ending cycle were another baby in born in the family, and it starts all over again, sentencing their future to hunger and poverty- if they can’t get out of the cycle. “There are 795 million undernourished people in the world today. That means one in nine people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life,” (WFP 2015).
One of the many causes of hunger is the tons of food wasted. This quote can be explained by the conflict theory because the people that carry more power than other people, have the ability to purchase food, and a vast quantity of those, send the food to waste, knowing that one in eight people are hungry. The poorer people aren’t able to afford food for their families, so the differing amounts of resources between the wealthy and the poor is abused, and ends up in food being wasted, and people suffering from hunger. Conflict theory might also explain this statistic, because as a response to the conflict in Syria, millions of people have suffered from hunger. This may be due to the fact that, in the rush to flee their homes to get to a safe place, people can’t find the means to feed themselves- this leads to hunger emergencies. Hunger is also used as a war tactic; soldiers destroy their opponent’s food ammunition and contaminating their water sources, which forces them to leave. One last reason, out of an infinite amount, of why there is hunger, is the poverty cycle. Someone is born in an already poor family, who are going through hunger. Baby doesn’t get food, so he develops malnutrition and possibly mortal diseases, so he can’t work, making the family be less able to earn the money needed to but nutritious food, or any food at all. This results in a never ending cycle were another baby in born in the family, and it starts all over again, sentencing their future to hunger and poverty- if they can’t get out of the cycle. “There are 795 million undernourished people in the world today. That means one in nine people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life,” (WFP 2015).
“You know it when you feel it. It’s that grumbling in your stomach that makes you weak, jittery and unable to concentrate. While many of us can easily access nutritious food to calm those hunger pangs, there are more than 925 million people around the world who can’t,” (Revolution Hunger 2013). “Poor nutrition causes nearly half (45%) of deaths in children under five – 3.1 million children each year,” (Stop Hunger Now 2015). "Agriculture plays an important role in the economies of most of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. Despite the fact that MENA is the most water-scarce and dry region in the world, many countries in the region, especially those around the Mediterranean Sea, are highly dependent on agriculture. The contribution of the agricultural sector to the overall economy varies significantly among countries in the region, ranging, for example, from about 3.2 percent in Saudi Arabia to 13.4 percent in Egypt. Large scale irrigation coupled with mechanization has enabled extensive production of high-value cash crops, including fruits, vegetables, cereals, and sugar in the Middle East," (Ecomena 2015). Although the Middle East has a huge variety of crops and their economy is based on agriculture, plenty cannot afford proper nutricious food. However, their agricultural exports are not global and sometimes they can't afford water for the crops and for themselves. Since the Middle East is such a dry country, plenty of crops go bad with the lack of water the environment and the people provide. With this, it can be concluded that these people have a low economy and that they cannot afford food, or enough food. Instead, people in developed countries, have a very high economy and can eat what’s necessary. This proves that since the Middle Eastern's climate often damages it's economy, plenty of its habitants can't afford proper food, even if that is what their economy is based on. |