The world produces enough grain and many other commonly eaten foods, to provide at least 4.3 pounds of food per person a day. Abundance, not scarcity, best describes the supply of food in the world today. Still, hunger persists. An estimated 786 million people have inadequate access to food. In the United States alone, an estimated 30 million Americans cannot afford a healthy diet.
Hunger is no myth.
Millions of people are starving. Many millions more are undernourished. Powerful myths block our understanding of the true causes of hunger and thus prevent us from taking effective action to end it. The real culprits are economies that fail to offer everyone opportunities, and societies that place economic efficiency over compassion. Twelve Myths amasses ample evidence that the world could feed itself with different policies.