skicrush
None of you guys are listening. No wonder the "religion" debate is going nowhere. PEOPLE DO NOT STARVE IN SOUTH AMERICA.
Oh dear.
Check this out (PDF file). You may find it enlightening.
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Central America and the Caribbean
In the Western Hemisphere, 2002 saw hunger hotspots flare in Central America and the Caribbean. Most of Central America suffered from a food crisis produced by a deadly combination of drought and a decline in worldwide coffee prices that had a deleterious impact on the coffee-exporting farmers of the region. According to the World Bank, some 600,000 coffee labor jobs have been lost in the past two years in Central America. Reduced income is contributing as much to food insecurity as the drought. Media focus on the war against terror and the impending war in Iraq has kept most people in the United States from learning about the severe food shortages among neighboring countries.
Two hurricanes in September and October 2002 battered western Cuba, forcing more than 600,000 people from their homes. While the United States provides some humanitarian relief to Cuba during natural disasters, it has maintained a trade embargo since the 1960s because it opposes President Fidel Castros policies. Haiti remains the most intense hunger hotspot in the Western Hemisphere. Ninety-five percent of the 9 million Haitians are desperately poor, and their plight has not improved in the decade since they were liberated from military dictatorship. Most Haitians (70 percent) work in agriculture, and the prices and export sales of Haitis main crops, such as coffee, sisal and cocoa, have plunged. Soil degradation also constrains agricultural production.
South America
When the U.S. economy is strong, South Americas economies prosper from an increased demand for their exports. But the past two years have seen slow U.S. growth, and South America has seen exports decline. Low prices for commodities, such as sugar, coffee, cocoa and copper, have contributed to low incomes and job loss in the region. About one-third of the people in South America earn less than $2 per day. The hunger hotspots in South America are in northeast Brazil, mountainous regions of Bolivia and Peru, and war-torn Colombia, and among indigenous populations scattered throughout the continent. In 2002 hunger also emerged in the relatively developed country of Argentina. Fiscal mismanagement, corruption and the near total collapse of the economy in December 2001 triggered increased food insecurity. A 40-year war in Colombia has displaced more than 2 million people, causing mass migration to urban areas. Colombia is the main exporter of coca consumed as cocaine in the United States and Europe, but conflict over whether the United States should help control its production has intensified. The 2002 election of President Alvaro Uribe Perez promises to escalate the conflict further, as the United States increases its role in assisting government orces to destroy coca crops and fight the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Aerial spraying of crops increased in 2002, not only killing vast numbers of coca plants, but also poisoning the soil and surface water, thereby posing a major health risk to children. Poor farmers plant coca because it provides the highest return for them as they strive to feed their families. Crop substitution programs are not in place, and most of the affected farmers are without income for the coming year and will experience hunger in 2003.
Indigenous peoples are scattered in rural villages and mountainous zones throughout South America. Providing them with land rights, agricultural assistance, and basic health and education services could reduce their high rates of hunger and disease. Brazil elected Luiz Inacio da Silva as president in October 2002. He is promising to reduce hunger in the country. Brazil is characterized by a wide gap between income groups. In the poor northeast region of Brazil, some 12 million people face hunger."
