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Chapter 20 – Hunger and the Global Environment
Learning Objectives
After completing Chapter 20, the student will be able to:
1. Discuss food insecurity and hunger in the United States and their causes.
2. Identify the federal, state, and community programs available to combat hunger.
Assignments and Other Instructional Materials
The following ready-to-use assignments are available in this chapter of the instructor’s manual:
• New! Case study
Other instructional materials in this chapter of the instructor’s manual include:
• Answer key for How To (pp. 689, 703) activities
• Classroom activities
• Worksheet answer keys (as appropriate)
Lecture Presentation Outline
2
“Of special interest to...” symbol key: = Hot Topic = Personal Health
= Health Care Professionals = Science Majors
Key to instructor resource annotations (shown to the right of or below outline topics):
PL = Available on Power Lecture DVD-ROM (ISBN 0538797592): AF = animated figure, V = video
I. Hunger in the United States PL V “Economic Hardship & Obesity”; IM CI 20.1
Hunger and food insecurity are widespread in the United States. People living in poverty are especially
vulnerable. Government and community programs bring some relief.
A. Defining Hunger in the United States 12e TRA 28; IM WS 20-1
1. Food insufficiency is defined as having too little food.
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4. Food insecurity is limited or uncertain access to sufficient quantity or quality of food to sustain a
healthy and active life.
a. Low food security – reduced quality of life with little or no indication of reduced food intake
B. Relieving Hunger in the United States IM CA 20-1, CI 20.2
1. Federal Food Assistance Programs
a. WIC is for low-income pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and children.
2. National Food Recovery Programs
3. Community efforts depend on volunteers, concerned citizens, local agencies, and churches.
II. World Hunger 11e TRA 35
Extreme hunger and poverty are common in developing countries. Natural causes, politics, armed conflicts, and
government policies have a big impact. Technology offers some solutions. Overpopulation must also be
controlled.
A. Food Shortages
1. Political turbulence and government policies during famine affect food problems.
B. Malnutrition
1. Iron, iodine, and vitamin A are the nutrients most lacking.
2. Protein-kcalorie malnutrition.
III. Poverty and Overpopulation 12e TRA 29; 10e TRA 180
Poverty and hunger with more people to feed interrelate to each other. Breaking this cycle requires improving
the economy and providing education, health care, and counseling about family planning.
A. Population Growth Leads to Hunger and Poverty
1. Human carrying capacity – the maximum number of people the earth can support.
2. Increasing rate in developing countries where hunger and poverty already exist.
B. Hunger and Poverty Lead to Population Growth
C. Breaking the Cycle
1. Curbing population growth.
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IV. The Global Environment IM CA 20-2
Unequal distribution of land and income leads to hunger. In the future, the ability to provide adequate amount of
food could be compromised.
A. Hunger and Environment Connections
1. Fertilizer used on planted crops leads to nonpoint water pollution.
B. Sustainable Solutions IM WS 20-3
1. Sustainable agriculture involves practices utilized by farmers to create a favorable yield.
V. Highlight: Environmentally-Friendly Food Choices PL V “Going ‘Green’”; IM CI Highlight
There are methods of making food choices to conserve resources and reduce pollution.
A. Choice: Animal or Vegetable?
1. Eat low on the food chain – more plant foods and fewer animal foods.
a. Grains require little energy to produce.
B. Choice: Global or Local?
1. It is energetically costly to transport foods long distances.
2. Farmers from impoverished countries are paid meager wages.
Case Study
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Sarah is a 30-year-old mother of two young children, ages 3 and 5. Her husband was recently disabled in a car
accident and has been unable to work for 6 months. Sarah works part-time in her children’s preschool and her
husband receives a monthly check for his disability. Medical expenses have wiped out the family’s savings and
monthly expenses often exceed the couple’s income. Sarah tells her close friend that she is unable to provide
balanced meals for her family because she often runs out of foods such as milk and fresh produce before payday.
Her children receive a healthy lunch and snack at preschool and a couple of times in the past month Sarah and her
husband have had to skimp on their meals at home to make sure the children were fed adequately. Sarah is worried
that their limited resources may be affecting the nutritional health of her family.
1. Based on this family’s history, how would you classify their food insecurity according to Table 20-1?
2. Using the “How To” ideas on page 689, what are at least 3 practical suggestions that would help Sarah provide
nutritious meals to her family at the lowest cost?
3. What programs mentioned in this chapter might this family be eligible for that could help improve their access
to nutritious food?
4. Sarah’s church keeps an emergency food pantry for people in their community. List some low-cost non-
perishable food suggestions that would provide maximum nutritional benefit to this family.
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5. Sarah has recently qualified for the SNAP program. What types of perishable items would help stretch her food
dollar and further improve the overall quality of her family’s diet?
6. Plan a one-day menu with 3 meals and 1 snack for this family that incorporates your ideas from the previous
questions.
Answer Key:
1. Low food security (3-7 positive responses for households with children).
Suggested Classroom Activities
If you are fortunate enough to have time to cover this chapter during your class, there are many ways to make the
subject interesting. There is an increasing emphasis on the environment and you could begin this section by
reviewing some current articles from you local newspaper. Next, it is best to move as quickly as possible to personal
lifestyle information such as food shopping and food appliances use.
Classroom Activity 20-2: Attending Local Council Meetings
Key concept: Local environmental issues Class size: Any
Instructions: To help students gain awareness of local environmental issues, encourage them to attend local city
council meetings about issues pertaining to the environment. For example, they could attend a meeting on industry’s
impact on local water quality. Extra credit can be given for oral or written reports about the meetings.
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for groceries. In contrast, another family that shops once a week at a store 1 mile away in a 50-mile-per-gallon car
for 30 years will drive only some 3,000 miles. Each gallon of gas burned in a car releases some 20 pounds of carbon
dioxide, so the second family will generate about 40 tons less carbon dioxide than the first family, just by making
fewer and shorter trips to the grocery store.
Classroom Activity 20-5: Explore Opportunities to Recycle, Reuse, and Reduce
Key concept: Impact of personal behaviors on the environment Class size: Any
Instructions: The instructor could begin a discussion about what opportunities students presently have to recycle,
reuse, and reduce and what opportunities they take advantage of. What other opportunities might they be able to take
advantage of in the future?
Classroom Activity 20-7: End-of-Semester Feedback about Class
Objective: Obtaining student feedback Class size: Any
Instructions: Ask students to write on a sheet of paper their responses to the following questions:
• What did you like best about this course?
• What did you like least about this course?
• What suggestions do you have for improving this course?
In attempt to obtain more honest feedback, tell students to omit their names.
How To “Try It!” Activities Answer Key
How to Plan Healthy, Thrifty Meals
Once students perform the search at the CNPP site as directed, they will be able to download a PDF of the booklet
Recipes and Tips for Healthy, Thrifty Meals, which includes a week’s worth of meal plans for a family of 4, with
recipes. The student should a dietary analysis of one daily plan, with the quantities divided by 4.
How to Make Environmentally Friendly Food-Related Choices
Students should be able to report the estimated acres of earth required to support their lifestyle, and make
suggestions for how they might reduce this, after completing the online game.
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Critical Thinking Questions
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These questions will also be posted to the book’s website so that students can complete them online and e-mail their
answers to you.
1. Discuss populations at greatest risk for hunger in the United States, why they may be at a greater risk, and what
resources the RD can utilize to assist their clients with food and nutrition resources.
Answer: Populations at greatest risk for hunger and its related multiple illnesses are single parents with
children, Hispanics, African Americans, and individuals living in the inner city. Older Americans are also very
likely to have problems with hunger, especially given the rising economic issues in the United States. As noted
2. World hunger is a significant problem. Identify four reasons why world hunger is a problem and discuss a
potential role the RD might play in assisting in working toward a solution.
Answer: As discussed in your book, political issues and armed conflicts drastically influence food resources
throughout the world. So too, will natural disasters such as a tsunami. Imagine how hard it is to provide food
and nutritional resources for individuals that have been devastated by a tsunami. The first course of action is
3. Responsible use of the land to produce food is a major component in dealing with the world hunger issue and in
caring for our environment. Discuss the concept of sustainable agriculture and the pros and cons of this
approach to food production in the United States.
Answer: Sustainable agriculture is a multi-based approach to decreasing the impact of over farming on the land
and environment. Table 20-2 highlights some of the concepts of sustainable agriculture such as rotating crops,
4. Chapter 20 points out the many activities that the American Dietetic Association has been involved in toward
being a responsible partner with other private and federal associations/organizations assisting in solving the
issue of world hunger. As a future RD, you will be challenged to go beyond your daily activities as an RD and
also work toward a solution for hunger in the U.S. and/or the world. Discuss activities that you would like to get
involved in now and in the future to help relieve and solve the problem of hunger in the United States and
around the world.
Answer: Obviously, students’ answers will depend on the hunger-related issues that are most meaningful to
them, and their anticipated areas of specialization as dietitians. Table 20-3 (p. 697) provides a list of several of
5. In this changing and challenging world, all of us have expenses. As students, you are often challenged with
balancing your bills while trying to eat properly. Assess your struggles in this domain over this last year and
what affect it has had on you as a person, a student, and as part of a family. How have these struggles changed
you and your eating habits? Have you been eating better or worse? Have the changes been better for you as a
person and a student? How about your family member? How have the changes impacted the environment and
sustainable agriculture? If you believe these changes have not been good, what changes or help do you believe
you need to improve them?
Answer: Answers will be individualized based on the student’s economic circumstances and lifestyle habits.
Research indicates that lack of money for food generally results in a poorer-quality diet because fresh produce,
IM Worksheet Answer Key
Worksheet 20-1: Reflections on World Hunger – Answers will vary.
Worksheet 20-2: Chapter 20 Crossword Puzzle
Worksheet 20-3: “Fighting Malnutrition” Case Study (Internet Exercise)
Canadian Information
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20.1 Hunger and Food Insecurity in Canada
Hunger and food insecurity are public health concerns in Canada. Poverty among women with young children is an
important factor related to hunger. The concept of food security encompasses many factors. The World Health
Organization (WHO) defines food security as:
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all people at all times have both physical and economic access to enough food for an active, healthy life;
the ways in which food is produced and distributed are respectful of the natural processes of the earth and
thus sustainable;
both the consumption and production of food are governed by social values that are just and equitable as
well as moral and ethical;
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On World Food Day in 1998, Canada launched Canada’s Action Plan for Food Security—a response to the World
Food Summit. In 2008, Canada submitted its fifth progress report to the Food and Agriculture Organization
Committee on World Food Security, the governing body that monitors progress on meeting the World Food Summit
goals.
9
In this report, Canada outlined its progress during 2006 and 2007 on all seven commitments of the Rome
Declaration on World Food Security. Domestic initiatives included social welfare and poverty reduction programs,
initiatives to reduce health disparities, targeted programs for vulnerable populations, new strategies for the
promotion of healthy eating, and a variety of projects to improve food security research, knowledge, and
understanding. Although initiatives have been undertaken to reduce food insecurity, it persists as a troubling issue in
both urban and rural Canada. Poverty on both national and international levels remains a leading factor for food
insecurity.
According to HungerCount 2008, a report commissioned by Food Banks Canada and the only annual national
survey of emergency food programs in Canada, the number of people assisted through food banks or an affiliated
food program in the month of March 2008 was 704,414.
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This represents a nominal decrease of 2.2% since 2007,
while remaining 6% higher than in 1997. Although these 2008 figures suggest a slight improvement from 2007, the
report suggests this finding does not necessarily indicate less hunger but that people may be relying more on meal
programs than food banks to meet their emergency food needs. Many food banks offer not only grocery hampers to
their clients but also offer meals through soup kitchens, school breakfast and lunch programs, shelters, drop-in
centres, and other venues. During the month of March 2008, food banks and affiliated agencies served a total of
3,091,777 meals, representing a 32% increase over 2007.11 Clearly, food insecurity in Canada is a societal problem
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that requires coordinated and direct action. To gain a first-hand understanding of hunger issues in their communities,
some of your students may ask how to go about volunteering at a local food bank, community kitchen, or inner-city
school food program. Check with nutritionists at your local public health office to identify contact people for
potential volunteer opportunities in these settings.
obtain information from local urban agriculture organizations, or by going to: www.cityfarmer.info.
Canadian Readings
The readings below provide perspectives on hunger and food insecurity issues in Canada and the roles of nutrition
professionals in this area of research.
• Power EM. 2008. Conceptualizing food security for aboriginal people in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public
Health, 99(2):95-97.
• Kirkpatrick SI, Tarasuk V. 2008. Food insecurity is associated with nutrient inadequacies among Canadian
adults and adolescents. Journal of Nutrition, 138(3):604-612.
• Chapman K. 2006. Food insecurity in Canada. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 67(4):170.
• Rideout K, Seed B, Ostry A. 2006. Putting food on the public health table: Making food security relevant to
regional health authorities. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 97(3):233-236.
• Tarasuk V. 2005. Household food insecurity in Canada. Topics in Clinical Nutrition, 20(4):299-312.
• Power E. 2005. Individual and household food insecurity in Canada: position of Dietitians of Canada. Canadian
Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 66(1):43-46.
• Power, E. 2005. Determinants of healthy eating among low-income Canadians. Canadian Journal of Public
Health, 96(Suppl-3):S37-S42.
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Highlight 20: Environmentally Friendly Food Choices
Concerns about sustainable agriculture; food safety, quality, and innovation; environmentally responsible
agricultural production; and global economic conditions are changing agriculture production methods in Canada. To
ensure Canada addresses contemporary demands from consumers, industry, and other stakeholders, in 2008, the
federal, provincial, and territorial Ministers of Agriculture launched an integrated and comprehensive agriculture,
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Worksheet 20-1: Reflections on World Hunger
Using the definitions in your textbook on page 686, provide your “reflections” on the areas of food security,
insecurity, insufficiency, and poverty for each of the following areas, in terms of whether you think it exists on the
specified level. Place an X in the box under each concept you feel is applicable for each of the situations listed on
the left.
Question for Consideration
Food
Security
Food
Insecurity
Food
Insufficiency
Food
Poverty
Your own personal “food” situation affecting
yourself and your immediate family
The “food” situation of your friends and
acquaintances
Consider the following:
1. Do you see any differences in how you are interpreting the concepts based on how you are organizing your
frame of reference?
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Worksheet 20-2: Chapter 20 Crossword Puzzle
Across:
Down:
1. hunger occurring from inadequate access to
available food
5. programs that provide groceries to be prepared and
eaten at home
6. crops grown for cash, as opposed to crops grown for
food
1. certain access to enough food for all people at all
times to sustain a healthy and active life
2. the total number of living organisms that a given
environment can support without deteriorating in
quality
3. able to continue indefinitely
1 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
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Worksheet 20-3: “Fighting Malnutrition” Case Study (Internet Exercise)
1. Approximately 250 million men and women suffer from nutritional anemia.
a. True
b. False
2. The first calcium-fortified orange juice developed by Procter & Gamble was named Citrus Hill.
3. The chemistry of fruit-flavored drinks is affected by low acidity that influences bioavailability,
4. The "Nutri Delight" product encountered problems in the test market due to distribution and pricing structures.
5. To promote recognition of "NutriStar" in Venezuela, Procter & Gamble formed a partnership with UNICEF, the
Venezuelan Department of Health, and the Venezuelan Pediatric Society.
a. True
b. False
Refer to Exhibit 1 (Consequences of key micronutrient deficiencies) to answer this question.
6. Match the nutrient deficiency with its consequence. Each nutrient can be used more than once.
a. Vitamin A
b. Iron
c. Iodine
_____ Reduced strength
Refer to Exhibit 13 to answer the following question.
7. Match the year with the case event.
a. 1989
b. 2002
