navy blue study 1-2

MOVE FORWARD WITH STRONG HEART

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　　1-2. History of Food Shortages


The global food problem has been an issue since ancient times. Let’s review the history of food shortages.

In 436 B.C. famine broke out in Rome, and it is said that thousands of people died of starvation. In China’s great famine in the 14th century, it is said that more than 4 million people starved to death. Between the years 1769 and 1770, grains withered because of a drought in Bengal, India. Over 3 million people died of starvation. From 1845 to 1851, the “Potato Famine” occurred in Ireland. 1.5 million people, 18% of the population, lost their lives from starvation or disease. Potatoes, which were the main crop in Ireland at that time, were wiped out by an epidemic. In addition, typhoid spread at the same time. In Bengal’s great famine of 1943, more than 1.5 million people died of starvation or disease. A big cyclone hit there, and the Ganges flooded. Rice harvests decreased. Rice prices soared by 8 times in a half year, so that people couldn’t buy rice. In the Ethiopian famine between 1982 and 1985, between 1 million and 1.5 million people lost their lives. A drought caused a poor crop. A bad infrastructure and a civil war in the northern part of Ethiopia added to the damage. (Cited from “Starvation and Waste - 12 Chapters on the Global Food Problem” by Prof. Fumio Egaitsu, Koudan-sha)

The global food problem has always tormented human beings historically.