Hungry Americans: Is the government doing enough?

Joel Berg at Saint Thomas

Joel Berg, an American author and activist gave a public lecture at Saint Thomas University about his new book, “All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America” on October 15 at 7pm, in the Kinsella Auditorium.  Berg focused his lecture on why Americans are hungrier than Canadians.

Joel Berg, is an accomplished writer and advocate for fighting hunger. He has challenged Barack Obama to end hunger, and continues to speak on the issue.  He doesn’t believe that charity organizations will erase this problem. He says we need the government to stand behind fighting hunger. 

Berg explains that some people believe that hunger is a condition of life. Berg doesn’t believe in this idea, he believes hunger is a condition caused by the lack of action from government and the people.

36 million people go hungry in America. For a country that is so wealthy and industrialized, hunger should be non-existent. “We have 300 billionaires in America, the money they get to keep from their 6% tax cuts should be going to feed the hungry.”

There was a system in place in the United States called “food security.” People would fill out a survey to asses how ‘food secure’ they were. It was designed to see how many people were choosing to pay bills over buying food, or pay for health care over food. The seventeen questions would determine if someone was food secure, insecure, or hungry.

Berg explains that there is a major contributing factor for why Americans are hungrier than Canadians. His main focus was the health care system. Health care in the United States is seen as a major cause of Americans going hungry.

Not every American gets health care; it’s who can afford it. Many Americans will choose to pay health bills over feeding themselves. However, this has a rebound effect. If people are not receiving the nutrients their body needs, they will get sicker, and thus increase their bills for health care. 

Berg explains that 21% of Americans don’t have health care, and 41% have unpaid health care bills. He said that America has a system called Medicaid for the poorest of the poor. Even with this system, he says that many Americans still go without health care because they may not fit within this bracket.

In 2005 there were 25 million soup kitchens and food banks in the United States. He gave the audience this statistic to paint a picture of how many people need these charities to stay alive.

“I knew a guy who was diagnosed with colon cancer. He could not afford the cancer medication and food. He had to decide between food and medication. He died because he didn’t have the money to afford his medication.”

Berg says that health care is all relative to hunger. Less health care produces less healthy people. With less healthy people there are fewer people who can get a job, and keep their job. Without a job there is no money to feed themselves and their family. Berg feels that obesity is another leading cause of hunger in America. “There are a couple of reasons for why obesity exists; Genetics, food, cultural, emotional, and philosophical reasons. If children and adults don’t have the money to afford fruits, vegetables, whole wheat bread, and milk they will be unhealthy.”

People who are obese have a high risk of becoming diabetic and developing heart disease. If people cant afford good food they may become sick. Because of this they will need the health care, which they won’t, be able to afford.

Berg examines the government’s challenges and achievements along the years to better American lives. He looks at the epidemic of Yellow fever in the 1700’s. Yellow fever is caused by the bite of a mosquito. American people are no longer infected with this disease because the government stepped up and eliminated the disease by killing the mosquitoes.

Berg examines diseases that have been controlled and eliminated by the government. He has come to the conclusion that no charity will do. In order to make a change the government has to stand behind it. In order to have the policies put in place, the funds, and the contacts, the government needs to stand behind the movement.

Hunger should not be existent in today’s world with all our resources. Berg points out Canada isn’t free from hunger. We still have a lot of work to do. We throw out food that can feed the hungry. Restaurants throw out food at the end of the day because it wont be considered fresh tomorrow. We abuse our resources instead of helping everyone. Berg is a fighter for the better people we could all be.

Short URL: http://www.newbrunswickbeacon.ca/?p=2010

Posted by Alaina Nugent on Oct 21, 2009. Filed under News, This Week's Edition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.