5 Major Effects Of Poverty On Food

Effects Of Poverty On Food

With 1.3 billion people living below the international poverty line, poverty is one of today’s most pressing global issues. It is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon involving economic, social and ethical considerations, but its root cause is a simple lack of money. However, poverty also has profound effects on the food supply chain and food security.

Effects of poverty on food can cause children to not get proper nourishment, which leads to a weakened immune system. Poverty also tends to be transmissible from generation to generation.

This can be caused by the lack of teenage education opportunities and teenage parenting. The cycle of poverty makes it harder for individuals to receive a good education and escape the cycle of poverty.  

Effects Of Poverty On Food Security

The effects of poverty on food security affect the growth and consumption of nutritious food, overall health, and social stability of a nation. A lack of income and assets directly affects nutritional intake by limiting access to healthy food and making available affordable, nutritious food is more scarce.

Poverty, hunger and starvation are today’s causes of most environmental issues. The effects of poverty on food security are quite direct and easy to explain. Food security has been defined as “when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life” (Smith, 2011).

With respect to the current problem, hunger and poverty are responsible for the over-consumption of natural resources in the world.

This is because most of the poor individuals cannot afford to purchase meat, so they consume fish that is found in abundance in our oceans. However, these fishes are over-fished since they are not carefully regulated by various governments as that is what contributes to environmental degradation.

Effects Of Poverty On Food Insecurity

The effects of poverty in food insecurity extend beyond direct impacts on health and education. They include long-term negative effects on human potential and on social cohesion, personal safety, and the quality of life.

In addition, poverty can be a contributing factor to financial insecurities, which can lead to further poverty. Poverty strikes nearly half of all people living on less than US$2 a day. However, the term poverty means different things depending on who you ask:

for example, many find themselves in a situation below the poverty line after a local disaster, whilst others are long-term poor as well as being chronically food insecure due to erratic economic systems or social structures. It is this short and long-term poor that suffer from the effects of poverty, which include food insecurity.

Effects Of Poverty On Poor Nutrition

The effects of poverty cause a variety of health problems for children. Poor nutrition puts children at greater risk for certain illnesses and diseases.

Poverty often blocks the means to improve nutrition. While nutritious food can be the most expensive in the grocery store, the cheapest and most readily available foods are very often the least healthy.

Poor nutrition can cause nearly half (45%) of deaths in children under five – 3.1 million children each year; 57% of the world’s undernourished people live in Asia and the Pacific, and 20% of the world’s children under the age of 5 are underweight.

Effects Of Poverty On Quality Of Food

Poverty, child labour and lack of education are the major causes of poverty. The effects of poverty on food quality reflect the fact that poor people are either unable to purchase good quality food or do not have enough food to eat.

There is a lack of proper and nutritious diet in their food that causes health problems. Poverty, however, is not merely a cause but also an effect. This vicious cycle can only end if measures are taken to eradicate the problem.

The causes of poverty are unemployment, lack of land, lack of employment skills, cost of living, inability to pay medical bills, illnesses and debt.

The results of poverty are: children becoming malnourished from poor diet leading to stunted growth, children being unable to pay for education, meaning they will have low education and have a reduced chance of getting a job that pays well.

Being poor also leads to families being unable to afford things like heating their home or cooking in safe conditions, so there is a higher risk of food poisoning and poor health.

Effects Of Poverty On Shortage Of Food

The individual effects of poverty include a shortage of food, inability to provide clean water and medical care, rise or fall in crime, no education and limited job prospects.

The causes of poverty include domestic inequality, arms and drug trafficking, population growth, conflicts and wars, globalization or foreign investment strategies.

The cause of poverty is a factor that affects the shortage of food in third world countries. When there is not enough food to go around, children and elders will not get as much as they need. This leads to malnourishment.

Inadequate access to food causes some of the most devastating effects of poverty. According to The World Food Programme, nearly 800 million people worldwide go hungry every night. Hunger is the top threat facing humanity, along with diseases like malaria and tuberculosis.