Worldwide, there are millions of people living in poverty and suffering from hunger. In an article in the Huffington Post, Joel Berg, from the Coalition Against Hunger based in New York City, argues that there is a relationship between hunger and power. According to the American, hunger is not the matter of too little food, but instead is the result of the distribution of power in society.
source: www.huffingtonpost.com
He points to India, where from 2009-2010 30% of the population, or 355 million Indians, were living in poverty. On the other hand, the country exports 30 million tons of food, worth 23 billion dollars. 11 million of that came from rice, 6 million from grain, 2 million from fruits and vegetables and one million from beef. In recent years the number of billionaires in India has sharply risen.
But India is not the only country. In the U.S. and Australia many people live in poverty, while at the same time a great deal of food is being exported from these countries. According to Joel, this has everything to do with the political power of the richest group in society. Europe, and Scandinavia especially, can be a good example of how it should be. Scandinavian countries have a comprehensive social system in which everyone contributes via taxes. The percentage of people in poverty in Scandinavia is low, and Europe also scores better than the U.S. despite the economic situations in Southern Europe.