Global Hunger: The Solvable Crisis
We produce enough food for 10 billion people. We have 8 billion. 735 million are hungry. This is not a scarcity problem.
The Paradox
10B
Food production capacity
8B
World population
735M
Chronically hungry
This is not a scarcity problem. It is a distribution problem.
The Scale
Cannot afford healthy diet
2.8 billion
Chronically hungry
735 million
Child deaths (annual)
~3 million
Food wasted
30-40%
The Cost
$45B
Cost to end world hunger
$2,240B
Global military spending
$886B
US military alone
$740B
Global advertising
$1,000B
Food waste value
The Math
The cost to end hunger = 2% of military spending.
One week of military spending = one year of ending hunger.
Production capacity
10 billion people
Population
8 billion people
Hungry
735 million people
Cost to fix
$45 billion/year
Military spend
$2,240 billion/year
735 million people are hungry because we choose this.
Active Crises
Humanitarian funding gaps show the scale of unmet need:
Afghanistan
28.3M
59% underfunded
DR Congo
26.4M
65% underfunded
Yemen
21.6M
63% underfunded
Ethiopia
20.1M
66% underfunded
Sudan
15.8M
73% underfunded
Total Funding Gap
~$13 billion per year would address the major crises.
That's less than Americans spend on pizza annually.
The Pattern
Every major famine in modern history was preventable:
1845-52
Irish Famine: Ireland exported food while millions starved
1943
Bengal Famine: Policy-induced under British rule
1959-61
Chinese Famine: Great Leap Forward policy disaster
1983-85
Ethiopian Famine: Civil war blocked aid
2016-present
Yemen: Blockade creates world's worst crisis
The food existed. Policy blocked distribution.
What Works
Organizations with high efficiency—your donation reaches those who need it:
Feeding America
98%
World Food Programme
93.5%
Action Against Hunger
90%
Percentage of donations that go directly to programs