Rich and poor or
Peace and war,
Flandern, 1600,
Collection Museum of
Bread Culture
History of Hunger
- any implications for current research?
Dr. Andrea Fadani
Foundation fiat panis
Hunger
China 1958 - 1962
France 1789
Europe 1315-17
Hohenheim 1818
Ireland 1848
Ancient Egypt
Definition Hunger
In politics, humanitarian aid, and
social science, hunger is a
condition in which a person, for a
sustained period, is unable to eat
sufficient food to meet basic
nutritional needs.
World Hunger Index 2014
Global map presenting hidden hunger index based on the prevalence estimates
(HHI-PD) in 149 countries and prevalence of low urinary iodine concentration
in 90 countries with 2007 Human Development Index
The magnitude of hunger
1945: half of world population is chronically undernourished
(World population: 2,5 billion people)
1960: World population 3 billion people, 35% chronically
undernourished
2000: 840 million people chronically undernourished
(=14% of total world population. 6 billion people)
2014: 805 million people chronically undernourished
(=11% of total world population. 7.2 billion people)
Conclusion I:
Hunger is as
big as history!
Ancient Egypt
Bread of
the Pharaos
Tomb Thebes 1400 B.C.
Servant model of a grinding man, 2500 – 2000 B.C., Collection Museum of Bread Culture
„During my reign
the nile was seven
years not flooding
the land. The grains
are scarce und food
is missing. […] The
warehouses are
empty. Everthing is
ending.“
Amenophis III.
(1413-1365 b. Chr.)
Nicolas Chapron after Raffael „Joseph interprets Pharaos dreams “, Table 28 from:
Sacrae Historiae Acta a Raphaele Urbin in Vaticanis Xystis ad Picturae Miraculum, Rom,
1649, Collection Museum of Bread Culture
Jan de Bisschop after Bartholomaeus Breenbergh „Joseph selling grains “, 1650, Collection
Museum of Bread Culture
Impact of famines in ancient Egypt
• water supply by Nile and the resulting agricultural
production created the civilization
• extremely dependence on the floods from Nile river
• low floods caused distress, famine, plague and
civil unrest in Egypt
• simple measure was to store food for years to
overcome cyclical fluctuations of Nile floods
Europe 1315-17
14. Century
• transition from the medieval warm period to the
little ice age
• Black Death kills around a third of the population
of Europe (1347–1351)
• Hundred Years' War begins when Edward III of
England lays claim to the French throne (1337 –
1453)
• Foundation of Prague University (1348), Wien
University (1365), Heidelberg University (1386),
Köln University (1388), Erfurt University (1392)
Recorded famines in France:
1304,
1305,
1310,
1315–1317 (the Great Famine),
1330–1334,
1349–1351,
1358–1360,
1371,
1374–1375
1390
Biblia Pauperum,
Erfurt , ca. 1320
Impact of famines in 14. century
• caused millions of deaths over an
extended number of years
• end the period of growth and prosperity
from the eleventh to thirteenth
centuries
• life expectancy drop from 35.28 years
(1276), to 29.84 years (between 1301
and 1325) to 17.33 years (between
1348 and 1375)
• Response in development: little or none
France 1789
Hohenheim 1818
Ireland 1848
Famine Memorial in Dublin
Phytophthora infestans (Potato blight)
Potato Production in Ireland 1844 - 1857
Impact of the Great Famine in Ireland
estimated 1 million people died
Two million people emigrated from Ireland
Massive debate about British „Corn laws“
Food for work program
Charity: „Temporary Relief Act” also known
as the “Soup Kitchen Act”
• 1880 agricultural research proved spraying
copper sulfate as effective way against
potato blight
•
•
•
•
•
“The Almighty,
indeed, sent
the potato
blight, but the
English created
the Famine.”
3 November 1815 – 20 March 1875
China 1958 -1962
Great Leap Forward
• economic and social campaign by the Communist
Party of China from 1958 to 1961
• campaign was led by Mao Zedong
• aimed to rapidly transform the country from
an agrarian economy into a communist society
through rapid industrialization and collectivization
• the campaign caused the Great Chinese Famine
Brave the wind and the waves, everything has remarkable abilities, 1958
Start the movement to
increase production and
practice thrift, with
foodstuffs and steel at the
center, with great force!,
1960
Small scale steel production in China, 1958
Great Leap Forward famine death estimates
Deaths
(millions)
Author(s)
Year
23
Peng
1987
27
Coale
1984
30
Ashton, et al.
1984
30
Banister
1987
30
Becker
1996
32.5
Cao
2005
36
Yang
2008
38
Chang and
Halliday
2005
38
Rummel
2008
42 minimum
Dikötter
2010
43 to 46
Chen
1980
Impact of the Great Famine in China
• wide range of estimation regarding died
people
• Mao and the Communist Party knew that
some of their policies were contributing to the
starvation.
• Mao stated 1959: "When there is not enough
to eat people starve to death. It is better to let
half of the people die so that the other half
can eat their fill.“
• Agricultural reforms in 1978
China and food production today
•
•
•
•
•
•
Successful reform process since 1978
Lester Brown „Who will feed China“, 1994
Rural poverty vs. urban wealth in China
Massive environmental problems
Critical issue: food safety
But China has today massive financial
resources to purchase food on the world
markets
Revolution of Dignity
Martin Bureau „Jasmine Revolution in Tunesien”, January 18th, 2011 © AFP
Casulties regarding to Food Price Index
History is repeating itself!
Conclusion II:
To
-
reduce hunger we should:
Put into power democratic organized societies
Influence public policy to support poor people
Investments in research
Humanitarian action
Connecting small farmers to markets
First 1,000 days (Nourishing children with the right
foods at the right time is an investment in the future)
- Empowering women
- …..
We should not allow that history
is repeated!
Rich and poor or
Peace and war,
Flandern, 1600,
Collection Museum of
Bread Culture
History of Hunger
- any implications for current research?
Dr. Andrea Fadani
Foundation fiat panis