Man-made famine

Nature

While farmers have faced droughts for millennia, it is only recently that dry years result in widespread famine. Formerly, in good years, a farmer would fill grain stores with enough to survive for several consecutive seasons. Grazing was done considering available pastures and water holes so over grazing was avoided. Fields were left fallow for long periods to enable the soil to recover. This balance has been disrupted by a number of things. Veterinary medicine by treating animals has resulted in vast herds with little grass. Mechanical pumps increase the use of water creating the likelihood of drought. Demands for market crops because of pressures for exports and encourage short term thinking. Grain silos are emptied eliminating buffers against famine. The land is no longer left fallow and the soil becomes exhausted.

Background

Man-made famine emerged as a recognized global crisis in the 20th century, notably with the Ukrainian Holodomor (1932–33) and China’s Great Leap Forward (1958–62), where state policies directly caused mass starvation. International awareness grew through investigative journalism and academic research, revealing patterns of political manipulation and deliberate deprivation. Subsequent crises, such as Ethiopia in the 1980s and Yemen in the 2010s, further underscored the recurring, preventable nature of man-made famine worldwide.

Incidence

Major examples have been associated with experiments in centralized planning including the famine in the Ukraine in 1932-1933 (estimated 5 million died) and that in China following the Great Leap Forward programme in 1960 (conservative estimate that 20 million died).

Counter-claim

Man-made famine is not an important problem in today’s world. With modern technology, global food distribution, and international aid organizations, the chances of widespread famine caused by human actions are minimal. Most countries have systems in place to prevent such disasters, making the issue largely irrelevant. Instead, we should focus our attention and resources on more pressing global challenges, rather than worrying about a problem that is no longer significant.