Poverty and Food Insecurity - Essay Example

Section/# Poverty and Food Insecurity Whereas there are my issues that leaders within government and society seek to discuss and ameliorate, the fundamental issue of poverty is one that is so important that it defines many of the other issues that are related to it. In a way, the issue of poverty is so great that it can be seen as the fundamental societal issue of society and humanity in general. Due to the fact that the existence of poverty has direct effects on health, life outlook, level of education, salary outlook, and the propensity to crime that an individual might be tempted, the reader can aptly see the true impact that poverty can have on every aspect of society as well as nearly every aspect of the individual that must live within its constraining reality. As a function of realizing this, the following few paragraphs will attempt to highlight and underscore the degree to which poverty and food insecurity (caused by poverty) creates something an alternate reality for the individuals within a society that are forced to integrate with such a construct. Through such a discussion, it is the hope of this author that the reader will be able to gain a more informed understanding of the way in which food insecurity and poverty are interrelated and work together to weaken society by decreasing health and increasing family dysfunction. Primarily, the social conflict that is evident within a situation of food insecurity, at least according to the understanding of this author, is predicated upon an understanding of Marxist social theory and the conflict between classes and the “haves” vs. the “have nots”. Firstly, it should be understood that poverty and food insecurity strike at the very ability of the individual to live as the rest of society. In such a way, a key level of humanity is robbed from them; keeping them from having the life that others enjoy so seemingly painlessly. In such a way, the level to which the individual can seek to raise themselves from their unfortunate situation is greatly diminished. The events of the past few years have created a situation in which societal poverty has peaked and reached levels that it has not since the Great Depression. In terms of this gap in social disparity and discord, it is patently obvious that the differential between groups has a profound impact with respect to the way in which they integrate with society and provide for their basic needs. Due to the fact that access to capital and savings is necessarily nonexistent for the individual within poverty, education is also out of reach. Whereas the first concern of anyone, whether rich or poor is sustenance, the very poorest members of society face a situation in which their sustenance is not guaranteed from one day to the next. Therefore, the Marxist theory and approach to food availability and poverty is one of the most effective in seeking to change this very real and impactful situation. Because of this, development within other aspects is not able to take place. For instance, with all available resources being directed towards sustaining life functions, no thought or resources can be directed towards education and/or the level and extent to which they can hope to attain a higher standard of living is all but lost (Daiski et al., 2012 pg 108). In such a way, seeking to change the stigma of poverty and food insecurity and allowing individuals a clear path for recovery would be the first step. Such a path could be a contribution of several state funded programs as well as nationally funded mandates. This hopelessness that is born out of not having any opportunity and/or spending a disproportionate amount of resources on securing adequate sustenance oftentimes drives individuals living within poverty towards crime; seeing this as an easy means to escape the monetary constraints of the life that they find themselves trapped within. Whereas poverty and food insecurity affects many individuals, not just the ones suffering from material want, crime can be said to affect the society in an even stronger way. Due to the fact that crime necessarily puts individuals within society at risk, it also increases the amount of money that needs to be spent up on law enforcement efforts as well as acting as a cancer and a rot for many cities and population centers around the United States. From the individual’s standpoint, poverty acts as something of an endemic rot that slowly reduces the level of optimism that can be seen in life. Due to the fact that the individual is so focused upon meeting their material needs, appreciation for an recognition of the simpler and more profound aspects of life, relationships, and family cannot fully be understood (Krakowsky et al., 2013 pg 31). Be engaging with those that are poverty stricken and the food insecure from a psychological standpoint, society could seek to address the core issues of hopelessness that affect poverty and food insecurity. According to a 2012 Australian piece of research regarding poverty and food insecurity: “Early intervention is targeted to assist people in urgent need or at critical points in their lives. This is a simple and arguably sensible approach. As society seeks to engage with the causes and necessary approaches to poverty and food insecurity, the requirement of engaging individuals and seeking to provide relevant programs that address sustenance is of vital importance” (Parsell & Marston, 2012, pg 35). One of the key components poverty and food insecurity within the current dynamic is necessarily with regards to the ever-increasing population and reduced levels of housing that are available around the globe. Due to the economic downturn, developers and governmental housing projects have necessarily all but ground to a standstill. What this has created is a situation in which an ever-increasing demand for housing is not being met due to the fact that individuals within the current economy neither have the means more the wherewithal to seek out and purchase, or indeed continue to pay mortgages, on homes and properties that they would otherwise use for themselves and for their families. Although poverty and food insecurity has traditionally been understood as a problem affecting only the very lowest class within a society, the events of the past several years have highlighted and underscored the fact that poverty can affect each and every individual within the system to a profound degree. From a societal interpretation of this particular drawback, it is the onus of governmental and state entities to ensure that the supply and demand for housing are being met in an equitable manner. Though increased levels of government control with regards to the real estate industry is not something that many individuals within society would necessarily want to take place, the reality of the fact is that the current dynamic of economics take nation necessarily demands action on the part of these local, state and federal entities to ensure that the hemorrhaging problems associated with poverty and food insecurity are ameliorated in the best means possible. By seeking to provide housing and reduce the entry barriers to attaining proper and sufficient dwelling, society could drastically reduce the rate of poverty and food insecurity that is so seemingly prevalent within society. The reality of the fact is that poor and food insecure groups are necessarily hard-to-reach and underrepresented within healthcare research and availability. Whereas the reader can doubtless consider a litany of studies that it been performed on individual suffering from bronchitis, lung cancer, AIDS, or a variety of other diseases that are represented within a extent to society, a level of focus upon poverty and food insecurity (Donovan & Shinseki, 2013 pg 181). In such a way, the reader can come to a full appreciation for the lack of integration an understanding that current healthcare scholarship and societal appreciation for the impacts of poverty and food insecurity directly correlates to the means by which the exhibition of homelessness and the health issues associated with it can hope to be corrected (Grant et al., 2013 pg 5). This of course represents the fundamental drawback and unit of analysis that this particular essay will seek to reference with regards to raising this issue to a higher level of visibility and seeking to correct many of the societal ills and health problems most directly related to poverty. As such, seeking to address the healthcare needs of this underserved population is a primary approach that could drastically reduce the overall impacts of poverty and food insecurity. Due to the level to which poverty and food insecurity robs the individual and society of the level of humanity that has herein been described, it can readily be noted that poverty represents something of an umbrella term for which many of the societal issues that the current system faces must seek to integrate with. Rather than choosing to grapple with each of these externalities in a separate manner, the far better approach would be to realize that poverty represents the most fundamental harm and seek a better means of reducing its existence and occurrence. Although it is true that other theories and approaches could be equally useful in seeking to address the issues relating to poverty and food security, from the information that has been presented, it is the view of this author that the Marxist approach is the most effective in explaining and providing potential solutions to the issue that has been raised. References Daiski, I., Halifax, N., & Mitchell, G. (2012). Poverty in the Suburbs: Engulfment in the Grotto of Poverty. Studies In Social Justice, 6(1), 103-123. Donovan, S., & Shinseki, E. K. (2013). Poverty Is a Public Health Issue. American Journal Of Public Health, 103(S2), S180. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301727 Grant, R., Gracy, D., Goldsmith, G., Shapiro, A., & Redlener, I. E. (2013). Twenty-Five Years of Child and Family Poverty: Where Are We Now?. American Journal Of Public Health, 103(S2), e1-e10. doi:10.2105/AJPH. 2013.301618. Krakowsky, Y., Gofine, M., Brown, P., Danziger, J., & Knowles, H. (2013). Increasing Access—A Qualitative Study of Poverty and Palliative Care in a Major Urban Center. American Journal Of Hospice And Palliative Medicine, 30(3), 268-270. Parsell, C., & Marston, G. (2012). Beyond the At Risk Individual: Housing and the Eradication of Poverty to Prevent Poverty. Australian Journal Of Public Administration, 71(1), 33-44. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8500.2012.00758.x Read More