In 1984, singer Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats was so outraged by the news videos of Ethiopian famine that he organized a fundraising organization, Band Aid. He convinced a group of English and Irish musicians to record a song, the proceeds of which would be spent to bring food to Ethiopia.
“Feed the World” is a great song. Giving food to hungry people is important, and everyone involved with Band Aid had the best of intentions. But they weren’t economists, so they didn’t realize one thing: famine isn’t due to a lack of calories but rather a failure of distribution. In the case of Ethiopia, the government was more interested in fighting a war with Eritrea and quelling rebellion than providing basic infrastructure for its people. The food aid is alleged to have been denied to people who needed it because they were opposed to the government; some of the food was apparently sold to purchase weapons.
The United States is a ridiculously rich country, with more food than anyone needs. I’m writing this on Christmas Eve in a fit of procrastination; there’s plenty of baking and chopping to do before dinner tomorrow. And yet, there are people who will go to bed hungry tonight and tomorrow, not because of a lack of calories in the United States, but because they can’t afford to buy food. In October, the U.S. congress cut food stamps without cutting subsidies to farmers. Because agribusiness needs money more than poor people?
In the Africa blogging project, I’m seeing how often the people have been failed by their governments. Between corruption, power trips, ethnic tensions, and human beings overwhelmed by huge problems, a lot of people are being screwed. It makes philanthropy so hard. There’s enough money in the world to get everyone out of poverty, but how do we transfer good intentions to effective work?
So this is my cheery meditation for a Christmas Eve, to be scheduled to run on Christmas Day. Let’s figure out how to feed the world.
