The documentary film Hunger in a world of plenty is about unequal distribution of food and the causes and effects that has on The Third World countries such as Senegal. Even though the world has sufficient production of food, there are still countries whose population is poor and hungry. The film explores the reasons for such unbalanced access to food and food agriculture. The director compares agriculture in the USA and in Africa. There are a lot of differences and they are mainly directed towards the way of food production and subsidies provided by the country. In this way, a farmer from the USA is placed in a better position in relation to the farmer from the Senegal. The liberal capitalism has taken its toll and it reflects mainly on the population from the developing countries. The globalization has split the world in two unequal parts: the ones who have more than they need and the ones who have barely enough to stay alive.
Global social changes marked the last two decades of the twentieth century. The milestone for these global changes includes technological and economical connection. In the countries that have accumulated wealth and allocate a lot of money for improvement in technology there is no shortage in food and their products are competitive. However, in the countries that are still developing, the population is mainly uneducated and uses the same old techniques for the food production and they cannot be competitive on the world market. The African developing countries and their wish to hasten the transition frequently lead to the status of being dependable from Europe or the USA. Due to this trend, the governments of developing countries look on the other side when their natural resources are exploited by China or Korea. The example portrayed in the film represents the influence of demand and use of national resources from the developing countries in favor of the developed countries. The overuse of fishing near the costs of Senegal has brought the local villages to the verge of hunger. The portrayed unfairness leads to the following question: How can a country that is rich in natural wealth always be on the verge of hunger?
In order to satisfy endlessly rising needs of the population living in the developed countries, the society is in a constant need of the process of the renewing of different material goods and services. The final stage of social stage named globalization offers a lot for the macro economy where the need creates a demand and goods at the lowest prices. This induces the need for technological development where a farmer can produce more food in order to have the lowest price. The benefit of the farmer living in the USA is that he can expand his business and buy more land. This is core of capitalism. In the developed countries, a farmer gains subsidy for every hectare, whereas in the developing country farmers do not have access to the same technology and the same amount of subsidy. This creates a deep gap between countries and the food prices. Based on this, the farmer in Senegal will not be competitive with the prices as his colleague from the USA. Due to this, the farmers from Senegal or some other developing country is forced to sell his product and still remain poor. The social and wealth inequality in the word is a result of over accumulation of wealth between little corporations as they are the ones who dictate the modern economy and the market prices.
However, there are ways to lower the social inequality in the world. The key lies in transparency of business of every corporation that exploits the developing countries. The world leading countries should promote and enforce regulation for the corporate responsibility and punish companies that exploit the countries such as Senegal. The process of social changes is still to come in the developing countries, but it demands a lot of effort and money. If they are now in the ownership of some of the largest world companies, what will their future destiny be?
Work cited:
Hunger in a world of plenty. Directed by Christian Neu, 2011. Web. 11. June 2014.
The World Bank. The State of the Poor: Where are the Poor and where are the Poorest. Web. 11. June 2014. http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/State_of_the_poor_paper_April17.pdf
