Nutrition and Underdevelopment

Carson, Guy et al.
Publisher:  Oxfam, Canada
Year Published:  1977  
Pages:  69pp  
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX293

A booklet that attempts to show that hunger, on a world-wide scale, is not the
result of food scarcity alone but rather a symptom of an unjust world economic
system.

Abstract:  This booklet attempts to show that hunger, on a world-wide scale, is not the result of food scarcity alone but rather a symptom of an unjust world economic system. While covering the technical data of malnutrition, the chapters concentrate on the context in which hunger, malnutrition and protein deficiencies exist in all parts of the world. Each chapter contains an introductory analysis followed by case studies in the form of reprints from various journals.

Chapter Two, Section C, entitled "Food, Poverty and Kids", is a reprint from This Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 3, November, 1973. It draws on a report on nutrition by the National Council of Welfare, March, 1973 'One Child, One Chance.' This report was compiled before the skyrocketing of food prices in 1973. The point is made that as important as food is in every Canadian family's budget, in the poor family's budget it is particularly important. When for poor families meeting emergencies must come first, only what is left is available for food. The report discusses the problems both of Canada's working poor and welfare poor and shows how poverty and malnutrition are linked. It concludes by making seven recommendations to counteract the problem of malnutrition across the country. A bibliography of books, periodicals and journals is also provided.

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