My graduate work at Cornell University was on the right to food, so this topic is of special interest to me. So, what prompted me to write this blog note that one of the largest English-language newspapers in India, the Hindustan Times is running a series on hunger in India called the “Hunger Project“. The aim is to use the investigative resources of the paper to highlight what is fast becoming a hidden problem especially in the elite and rarefied English language world that the media occupy. There are problems with the articles so far because they are attempting to shock the reader with specific cases of severe malnourishment. But, it goes so much deeper than specific cases of hunger when one-half of all children in India have some form of micronutrient deficiency stemming not from diet choices made in the country, but instead from a lack of access to safe and nutritious food. This lack of access to food is, according to General Comment 12 of the United Nations is a human rights violation. If you want to learn more of hunger worldwide, visit IFPRI or Grain, both non-governmental organizations doing great work around the right to food and its complex politics.
Oh, the title of this blog post refers to the pretty famous Bruce Springsteen song of that name. I’m pretty sure that Springsteen was not referring to global hunger in this song, but I’m sure that he’d be supportive of ending hunger.