Journal Entry 7

Summary and Response to “Technology Won’t Feed the World’s Hunger” by Anuradha Mittal.
In Anuradha Mittal’s essay called “Technology Won’t Feed the World’s Hunger”, she discusses the problem of world hunger and how technology won’t solve it. Mittal points out even with all the technology advancement and higher yields, people are still starving because they can’t afford it and that people don’t want anything to do genetic altered foods. By using examples of what happened in India, she makes the reader understand that corporations are putting a stranglehold on food supplies and that people should not be tricked into believing the lie of genetic altered foods.
Response:
I would have to agree with Mittal on this issue. The main problem is getting the food to everyone. If we make the cost of the food to high, wouldn’t it be obvious that the poor wouldn’t be able to buy it. What’s the point of trying to make a lot of food so that we can feed the world, when we won’t allow the poor to have it? So the food goes to waste. It’s terrible that we allow this to happen and that many are oblivious to the fact that it is happening.
Technology is not needed to fix this problem; it is social change that needs to happen. This is another main point that Mittal points out. There might be all these new technological advances that make the food healthier and makes the quantity increase but what is the use. People are trying to solve this problem the wrong way. Instead of helping people get food, they are just technologically advancing the food, which at this point is not solving the problem. These people need food not science. We need to get rid of institutions that make cut back on public services and social-safety nets so that food can get to those who need them.
Overall, Mittal is just pointing out that we are going the wrong way and trying to get people to see why. A world of starvation is a horrible thing and we need to take action to help it. So far all we have done is hampered those who are trying to help the hungry. Social change needs to happen to help solve this problem.