The world produces more than enough food to feed everyone on the planet, but nearly 1 billion people around the world suffer from hunger. Read on how this issue is the greatest risk to health worldwide. 

Hunger Causes

• Poverty is the leading cause of hunger. One in four people in developing countries live on $1.25 a day or less.
• Natural disasters like floods, tropical storms and droughts wipe out crops and cause super serious food shortages.
• War moves thousands of people from their homes, leaving many without access to food supplies.
• Many developing countries lack the tools and supplies needed to grow and transport their crops.
• Rising temperatures are affecting crops and causing more droughts.

Malnutrition

• People can become malnourished even if they eat. This happens when food does not have enough vitamins and minerals.
• A third of people in developing countries are affected by vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
• Not enough vitamin A can cause blindness and retardation in children. 
• Between 100 and 140 million children is vitamin A deficient.
• Iodine deficiency in mothers during pregnancy can cause stillbirths and mental retardation. Fifty million people have mental impairment caused by a lack of iodine.

Hunger in the U.S.

• Hunger in the U.S. is an issue of food insecurity.
• Food insecurity is when a family does not have enough food because of a lack of money and other resources.
• In the U.S., 35.5 million people live in food insecure households.
• In 2011, 45 million people received food stamps. That is a 70 percent increase from 2007!
• Kids suffering from hunger have higher levels of chronic illness, anxiety and depression than kids with no hunger.

Run a food collection drive. GO [1]

Sources:

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [2]

World Health Organization [3]

Fox [4]