Hunger persists around the world because of economic conditions. Some 70 percent of the world’s wealth is found in the developed countries, where only one-quarter of the world’s population lives. The remaining three-quarters of the world’s people, who live in the Third World, share the remaining 30 percent. The disparity of this distribution of wealth is reflected most clearly in the trade relations between developed and developing countries. The relationship is often described as an “unequal" one, since rich countries buy products from poor countries - generally agricultural or raw materials - at low prices, while poor countries buy finished goods such as tractors, machinery, automobiles and even processed foods from industrialized nations at constantly rising prices. In 1960, for example, a developing country could import six tractors in exchange for 25 tons of unprocessed rubber; in 1965, that same amount of rubber could be exchanged for three and a half tractors; in 1975, it could be exchanged for only two tractors. For many years, developed countries have, by and large, enjoyed a diet much higher in calories than required for proper nutrition. Calorie consumption per person in rich countries is well over 3000 a day on average, while in the developing countries it barely reaches 2000. A person at rest expends about 1 600 calories a day. The critical minimum level is set slightly above this figure, and food intakes below it are considered to be insufficient for leading a full, healthy, well-developed and active life. A breakdown of the statistics according to country group shows that 33 low-income countries are unable to meet 100 percent of the nutritional needs of their people; 63 medium-income countries slightly exceed their needs; and 19 industrialized countries exceed nutritional needs by nearly one-third.
Developing countries struggle with land scarcity and its unequal distribution. If land continues to be degraded through soil erosion, chemical...