A scandal that has lasted too long: hunger destroys life

5. Hunger must not be confused with malnutrition. Hunger threatens not only people's lives but also their dignity. A serious and protracted lack of food breaks down the organism, generating apathy, a loss of a social sense, and indifference or even cruelty towards those who are weaker — particularly children and the elderly. Whole groups of people are then condemned to waste away to death. Throughout history this tragedy has been played out over and over again. But, today people are more scandalised by starvation than was the case in the past.

Until the nineteenth century the famines which decimated whole populations were more often the work of nature. Today they may be not so vast, but in most cases are man-made. One need only cite a few regions or countries to be convinced: Ethiopia, Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Haiti, etc. At a time when humanity is better equipped than ever before to deal with hunger, such situations are a veritable dishonour to humanity.