Ending Hunger in the Elderly Population in America - Essay Example

?Eliminating Hunger amongst Elderly Population in America Final Project Introduction Mahatma Gandhi once said, “To a hungry man, a piece of bread is the face of God”. This sentiment remains the same even at a time when there is the technology to feed the world available at our fingertips. Ending hunger in the elderly population is not a matter of finding new solutions; it is a matter of identifying then fully funding existing ones on a large scale. Hunger is a global phenomenon and the factors contributing towards the expansion of this situation are countless, but one of the major factors is the lack of compassion on behalf of those who can help the poor. It is surprising to note that this problem is growing on a large scale in the United States of America that believed to be, the most powerful democracy in the world. Economists argue that this condition is specifically created by the inequity in the food distribution system of the country, and food insecurity is increasing at an exceptional rate, especially in the elder population (Nestle & Guttmacher, 1992). According to a survey conducted by Weill, (March 2008), a majority of the elderly population in the United States of America is suffering from malnutrition and food insecurity.He proposed that a solution lies in developing a better food distribution network in the United States of America which should provide food according to the needs of the individual and/or family irrespective of race, religion, or age. This solution is the most logical one based on an observation registered by (Pothukuchi & Kaufman), 1998, that points out a deficency in the food distribution system in the United States of America. The growing phenomenon of hunger is also causing the health standards of elders to drop significantly. The underlying fact is that the medications require healthy food intakes to maintain their effectiveness, although, elders are being provided with high quality medicines by federal agencies, but these people need healthy food. During the medical treatment, these medicines make a human body weak, for this reason, the body needs healthy and ample amount of food to survive to fight this weakness caused by medicines. But, at the same time most of the government policies to eliminate hunger are proving to be a mere lip service, many multimillion projects are not implemented to their full potential (Notz, 1971). These failed projects to eliminating hunger in elderly population is causing level of frustration in the general public of US, but the government is also facing a severe deficit in the city of New York alone, therefore, governmental financial resources are bearing high pressures regarding fulfilling the needs of public. Inavailability of food for elderly population is forcing them to forego at least one meal each day to fulfil their other necessities such as housing and insurance, this trend is also contributing towards making a bad condition worse in relation to the food supply for elderly population (Gomez & Ranney, 2002). Many researchers are of the view that, elders should be trained in such a way which could help therm in becoming useful members of the society, but this point of view is not a realistic one, because with the increase in age the mobility and strength of an individual is compromised rendering a person unable to work actively. Thus, it is the responsibility of federal government to work for the welfare of these people. On the other hand, international organizations, including UN, are playing a significant role in attempting to eliminate the hunger peoblem; however, their effort is less than effective, because, these organizations provide aid to the local government and cannot interfere in the internal affairs of a country. Due to this reason, local government utilizes these fundings in an unjust method, so these international organizations should be empowered to manage and implement these hunger elimination programs by themselves. NGOs of all kind are more than interested in their profitability, therefore human compassion is getting undermined with the passage of time. It is very important for the regulatory authorties to scrutinize the internal practices of these, so called, non profit organizations vigorously. When government will initiate these steps in the shape of a programme or improvement initiative, it will result in heightened sense of realization of governmental monitoring, causing them to return to their social work at the first glance. However, this idea will require intensive measures and investment from governmental regularatory authorities. Now this paper will shift its focus towards highlighting the insensitivity of government, which is evident from the launch of Mars project in the search of new life, but at the same instance Americans are turning blind eye towards existing life present on earth, suffering from food shortage and other health issues. The main reason of this inhumane behavior, is stemming from the need of developed nations to keep their supermacy over less developed nations, but this attitutude is causing the Americans to discriminate within their own people as well. Therefore this trend of inequilty is causing a notable damage to the social setup in the country. Another factor which is contributing towards spreading this hunger phenomenon is the broken structure of family in American community, where young family members are not willing to keep the older and aged people in their homes. This trend has caused the development of privatized facilities for elders, where they are spending a miserable life, because of less than adequate availability of food and health services. The argument developed in the previous section of this paper, highlights the potential role of government in uprooting the phenomenon of hunger within US elderly population. However, government alone cannot fight against this large scale adversity, but the role of general public is also significant in this regard. General public should also modify their behavior of hatred towards the needy, instead, they should respect and assist them in getting along with the life. Increased participation of elders in internatioinal and local sports events could result in increased motivation towards living a fruitful life in these deprived individuals, but at the same time private and public sector organizations should announce special jobs for old people, with an aim of increasing their quality of life and activities. However, these actions cannot be implemented without the compassion for these people within those, who can help them. On the other hand, in the light of a thoroughly conducted field survey, 80% of the food deprived population is constituted by African American elderly males in the shiny city of New York (Bowenng, Clancy, & Poppendieck, 1991). This observation compelled this effort to notify that, racism is still present in the very roots of the American Society, which is the major contributor, towards causing this hunger problem in US. At the same time, regardless of the severity of hunger in USA this issue is still not taken seriously by the US government. The evidence in the favor of the previous statement is the launch of multibillion dollar mission to Mars, when these funds could have been utilized on the welfare of the people suffering from hunger and food insecurity. Conclusion This paper concludes in the favor of an efficient and just food distribution network in US. At the same instance, this document does not recommend in the favor of spending upon training and development of elders, because they are not able to become useful members of the society, due to their poor health condition. Instead, government should provide them with affordable health care and food. Introduction of health tax on those who are earning regularly and sufficiently and using these funds for the purpose of healthcare for elders would be very effective in keeping the increasing costs of the hospitals in check. This research effort recommends extensive public awareness programs about the hunger among elderly population in US. These campaigns will develop a sense of humanity and compassion for those who are suffering; however, this process will take years, before being effective. Yet, we should remember that, a journey of thousand miles starts with a single step. Americans are at the verge of psychological awareness, but it will take number of years, before America could really abolish hunger from its population. It cannot be made possible without equality in all fields of life, specifically in food distribution system. Works Cited Bowenng, J., Clancy, K., & Poppendieck, J. (1991). Characteristics of a Random Sample of Emergency Food Program Users in New York: II. Soup Kitchens. American Journal of Public Health , 914-917. Gomez, M., & Ranney, C. (2002). Effects of Food and Health Spending Patterns on the health of the Elderly. Annual Meetings of the American Agricultural Economics Association, (pp. 1-34). California. Nestle, M., & Guttmacher, S. (1992). Hunger in the United States: Rationale, Methods and Policy Implications of State Hunger Surveys. New York: Department of Nutrition , Food and Hotel Management and Department of Health Education New York University. Notz, K. (1971). Let them Eat Promises: The Politics of Hunger in America. Rural Sociology . Pothukuchi, K., & Kaufman, J. (1998). Placing the food system on the urban agenda: The role of municipal institutions in food systems planning. Agriculture and Human Values . Weill, J. (2008). Addressing Hunger Among America’s Elderly Population Testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Aging. Food Research and Action Center. Read More