In this world, some people living in rich countries worry about their health and start to go on a diet to lose weight. On the contrary, other people including many people in Africa, worry about starvation and lack of food. According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), one child under ten years old dies every five seconds in some African, Asian, and Latin American countries.

Why Are Half of the World's People on the Verge of Starvation?, written by Jean Ziegler, explains two causes of starvation. The first reason of starvation is due to sudden crises. For example, people who are faced with natural disasters like a drought or a hurricane suddenly lose their arable acreage, waterways or riverheads. As for another unexpected cause of starvation, the book explains the impact of war. War can destroy all the houses and roads in a country in a moment.

The second cause of starvation is hunger resulting from structural defects in a country's organization. This starvation can last for a long time if the speed of development is relatively slow compared with the production capacity. The poor infrastructure of water supply or road facilities are also a cause of starvation. In addition, malnutrition can be a reason for starvation. For example, people dying from a lack of vitamins and protein are naturally exposed to many diseases.

Maybe you think that this kind of starvation can be overcome by aid such as relief measures through the activities of relief organizations. However, it is not as easy as you might think because those activities need help from such experts as doctors or nurses. In addition, it can also be dangerous to distribute relief food right away to hungry people because the food might impose a heavy burden on the weak digestive system of the poor people. Sometimes they even need nutritional IV. Hence, first they need to recover their health by following the prescription that medical personnel give.

Not only the problem of the small number of available doctors or other professionals but also political problems make the state of starvation in some countries more serious. Most of the areas on the verge of starvation are usually involved in war. In this case, one party may prohibit the other party from distributing relief goods.

After reading this book, the Gazette thought about the situation in Korea. We have witnessed surplus agricultural stock when the supply is more than demand. It is high time for us to think of ways we can help people on the verge of starvation through the practice of distributing surplus food properly to starving people. We need to keep in mind that our small steps to help them can rescue the starving people in the world.