Militarism and malnutrition: the impact of a monetarist strategy, Buenos Aires, 1976-1983

Abstract

Hunger is a cold, brutal physical fact of life for millions throughout the world. It is also a metaphor for the social, economic and moral breakdown of a system. This paper will address hunger as an international scourge at both levels. One important point before talking about the Third World inequality and deprivation: hunger is not just taking place "out there"; it is at present a daily occurrence for many of the 4m Canadians at or below the poverty line, 1.5m of whom cannot afford even the basic requirements of shelter, clothing and adequate diet. In Montreal, 500,000 of nearly 3m people are at or below the poverty line. Single parents (the majority women), old people, young unemployed, refugees and chil- aren are the groups most at risk. The problem in Montreal is not a shortage of food; it is a shortage of effective demand or purchasing power. This is true, as well for Canada as a whole where there has been a record wheat har- vest and farmers, many already in financial aifficulties, are faced by falling prices for their grain. And it is true at the interna- tional level. Current production of grains alone on a world scale is sufficient to provide everyone with a dietary intake to meet Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) caloric standards. The (relatively) simple truth of the matter is that we live in a system capable of stunning technical and scientific achievements but one which cannot deal with the social, environmental and ethnical shortcomings inherent in its opera- tions (Lappé and Collins, 1977, 13; Tudge, 1979, 1).