Acute Hunger Research Articles

Food insecurity amongst asylum seekers and people without status in Israel

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic caused massive disruptions globally, with food insecurity a primary concern amongst vulnerable communities. As one of the most marginalized and vulnerable groups in Israeli society asylum seekers and undocumented populations were amongst the first to be affected by the pandemic and the economic crisis that followed. The objective of the study was to evaluate the severity and causes of food insecurity among asylum seekers and other undocumented communities because of COVID-19.MethodsA multi method approach was used. The quantitative component included an online questionnaire regarding access to food, aid and choices, and the 6 item Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM) The qualitative component included 4 focus groups and thematic analysis. The study was conducted in November 2020, by the Ministry of Health's Nutrition Division and the Tel Aviv Municipality's foreign community assistance and information center (Mesila). The convenience sample was drawn from the low-income neighborhood population of South Tel Aviv. Logistic regression, multivariate analysis and content analysis, were performed.ResultsFour hundred eighty-five people completed the quantitative survey, with average age 33.2 ± 5.4 years and 349 (72.0%) experienced food insecurity. In the multivariate analysis, being older (p = 0.04, Odds Ratio OR 1.1, Confidence Interval CI 1.05–1.15) and being single (unmarried) (p = 0.03, OR 2.1, CI 1.2, 3.5) predicted food insecurity. Qualitative findings identified three main themes: children preferring Israeli/ Western foods to traditional foods; financial stresses were compounded; a preference for receiving assistance with purchasing food (vouchers), rather than food handouts.ConclusionIn conclusion, vulnerable populations (asylum seekers and other undocumented communities) were severely affected and are in danger of food insecurity. Culturally relevant and contextualized solutions are needed to address the acute hunger within the community. These include establishment of a cross-ministerial forum, a social grocery store, increased liaison with food rescue bodies, complete nutritional support for children in educational settings and increased guidance regarding food choices and budgeting.

Pakikipagkapwa-tao as a mode of inter-religious dialogue in the contemporary Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic

The study brought to the fore the issue of acute hunger and food insecurity in Philippine society during the COVID-19 pandemic. It utilised Filipino culture and the Catholic Church’s fidei depositum as a framework to unravel the forms of inter-religious dialogue in the country. The study was qualitative research that used a case study as it analysed inter-religious dialogue, particularly the dialogue of life and action among Filipinos during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. In the Philippine context, dialogue takes the form of a shared life and common action. Also, the Filipino ideal of pakikipagkapwa-tao [having positive and sincere relations with one’s brethren] promotes positive inter-religious relations and social cohesion. The author argued that although religion compelled many believers to help the needy, it is pakikipagkapwa-tao that undergirds the care and concern of many Filipinos to those who are suffering. Pakikipagkapwa-tao enabled cordial cooperation between religious institutions and individuals, which promoted the physical well-being of the poor.Contribution: This study contributed to a deeper understanding of interfaith dialogue and relations in the contemporary Philippines.

Sex for food: a transactional sex reaction to the COVID-19-induced rise in the prevalence of hunger among in-school female adolescents in Ogun State, Nigeria.

COVID-19 has doubled the proportion of people with acute hunger globally and Nigeria is categorized as having a "severe" form of hunger. Vulnerable groups responding more to hunger stressors include the female adolescents who transact sex for both survival and luxury purposes. This study assessed the engagement in transactional sex to obtain food among female adolescents in Ogun State, Nigeria. this descriptive cross-sectional research was conducted among 668 in-school female adolescents that were selected through a multistage sampling method. Data were collected with a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Food security was assessed using a standard tool while engagement in transactional sex was elicited through self-report. Data analysis was done using Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 25. Logistic regression was used to find factors associated with transactional sex. P< 0.05 was taken as statistically significant. the mean age of the respondents was 15.18±1.35 years. More than two-fifths (41.5%) were staying in households without food security. Less than one-fifth (15.3%) were engaging in transactional sex. Having emotional stress (OR = 4.33; 95 CI: 1.37-13.63), mother´s education (OR =0.163; 95% CI: 0.057- 0.461), having sexual partner (OR = 0.132; 95% CI: 0.047-0.370 and missing classes (OR 3.35, 95% CI: 1.084-10.331) were significant predictors of engaging in transactional sex among female adolescents. transactional sex is commoner among female adolescents who were missing classes, had sexual partners, and were emotionally stressed. There is a need for intervention programs to protect the female adolescent, delay sexual debut and improve academic performance among them.

Acute Fasting Modulates Food-Seeking Behavior and Neural Signaling in the Piriform Cortex.

It is well known that the state of hunger can modulate hormones and hypothalamic neural circuits to drive food-seeking behavior and consumption. However, the role the sensory cortex plays in regulating foraging is much less explored. Here, we investigated whether acute fasting in mice can alter an odor-guided foraging behavior and how it can alter neurons and synapses in the (olfactory) piriform cortex (PC). Acute hunger enhances the motivation of a mouse to search for food pellets and increases food intake. The foraging behavior strongly activates the PC, as revealed by c-Fos immunostaining. The activation of PC is accompanied by an increase in excitation–inhibition ratio of synaptic density. Fasting also enhances the phosphorylation of AMP kinase, a biochemical energy regulator. Taken together, our results uncover a new regulatory brain region and implicate the PC in controlling foraging behavior.

War-torn Afghanistan and cancer care: where to focus?

We read with great interest the news piece in The Lancet Oncology about the risks faced by cancer treatment facilities during the crisis in Ukraine. 1 Burki TK Consequences of the crisis in Ukraine on cancer care. Lancet Oncol. 2022; (published online March 3.)https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(22)00130-9 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (0) Google Scholar In this Comment, we would like to draw attention towards Afghanistan, which has been a hotspot for military conflicts for four decades. The resultant political turmoil has had a deleterious impact on the health-care sector, and led to an ongoing humanitarian crisis. Afghanistan's health-care system is on the verge of collapse—95% of families are suffering from acute food insecurity and a severe scarcity of essential health facilities, medications, and vaccinations. 2 Rasa MS 95% of Afghanistan's population faces acute hunger: WFP report. https://8am.af/eng/95-of-afghanistans-population-faces-acute-hunger-wfp-report/Date: 2022 Date accessed: March 1, 2022 Google Scholar Between January and July, 2021, about 26 health facilities were damaged and 31 health-care employees injured during a peak of political unrest, which included the death of 12 health personnel. 3 ReliefWebStatement on Afghanistan by Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/statement-afghanistan-dr-ahmed-al-mandhari-who-regional-director-easternDate: 2021 Date accessed: March 4, 2022 Google Scholar

Sustainable Agroforestry Crop Rotation System for the Tropics: A Theoretical Exposition

Population pressure is the key reason that has been reducing the duration of fallow in shifting cultivation. In many places, it has changed to bush fallow and subsequently is going towards the need to use available arable lands continuously. As a result, soil productivity is declining since long fallow is required for its regeneration after land is planted for a few years. An agroforestry tree crop/arable crop rotation system was proposed to mimic the natural fallow system and improve nutrient recycling through litter drops, which will improve soil organic matter. As soil organic matter improves the soil structure in addition to the ability of the soil to retain nutrients and water, the land becomes suitable for continuous crop production with appropriate fertilization regimes. The proposed tree crop/arable crop rotation will therefore result in continuous generation of income from harvestable produce in the rotation system year in year out. The paper, equally elucidated on other benefits of rotating tree crops with arable crops on the same land towards achieving maximum land productivity and obtaining benefits from the land without subjecting the land to the traditional fallowing system. This intervention will reduce abject poverty (SDG1), reduce acute hunger (SDG2), promote sustainable economic activities and growth, increase employment and decent work (SDG8) and promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation (SDG9). The paper also identified the challenges associated with this type of rotation system and proffered suggestions on how to ameliorate such challenges.

Honestly hungry: Acute hunger does not increase unethical economic behaviour

Acute hunger leads to self-protective behaviour, where people keep resources to themselves. However, little is known about whether acute hunger influences individuals' inclination to engage in unethical behaviour for direct monetary gains. Past research in moral psychology has found that people are less likely to cheat for monetary than non-monetary gains. Integrating research on scarcity into the study of unethical economic behaviour, we predicted that acute hunger increases cheating for monetary gains. We further predicted that this effect is moderated by childhood socioeconomic status, trait self-control, and moral identity. We tested these predictions in a well-powered laboratory experiment where we manipulated acute physiological hunger as indexed by blood glucose levels and obtained a validated behavioural measure of cheating for direct monetary gains. Contrary to our predictions, our results show that acute physiological hunger as indexed by blood glucose levels does not increase (or decrease) the propensity to engage in unethical economic behaviour and that neither childhood socioeconomic status nor trait self-control or moral identity moderate this relationship. These findings advance scientific understanding of whether experiences of scarcity shape moral judgment and decision-making.

Assessment of the Impact of Direct Taxes on Public Investment in Agriculture in Nigeria

This study investigates the impact of direct taxes on agricultural funding. For this analysis, the petroleum profit tax, personal income tax, and corporate income tax were employed as direct taxes. These are the three largest direct taxes chosen for this analysis. Agricultural finance has long been a cause of concern, forcing the entire country to suffer from acute hunger as a result of unnecessary apathy. Furthermore, Nigeria now has a high degree of hunger index at 28.3, placing the country 103rd out of 116 countries in the 2021 Global Hunger Index record. This research considers all of these problems and aims to assess the extent to which direct taxes may alleviate the load by providing more direct tax revenues to agricultural enterprises. The evaluation is carried out by collecting secondary data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on chosen direct taxes and agricultural spending from the Central Bank of Nigeria's Statistical Bulletin. The study period runs from 2010 to 2020. The study used a multiple regression technique to present real evidence that all of the direct tax types analyzed had a minor impact on agricultural finance, with the exception of personal income tax, which has a positive and considerable impact on agricultural growth. This leads to the request that Nigerian tax rules be altered to allow for significant use of tax revenue for agricultural loans. The insignificance of petroleum profit tax and corporate income tax to agricultural funding necessitates more effective tax processes and a crackdown on malfeasance among tax authorities.

RESEARCH AND APPLICATION OF CROP PEST MONITORING AND EARLY WARNING TECHNOLOGY IN CHINA

<List> <ListItem><ItemContent> ● Crop pests are a major factor restricting agricultural production in China. </ItemContent></ListItem> <ListItem><ItemContent> ● The National Monitoring and Early Warning System (NMEWS) was established > 40 years ago. </ItemContent></ListItem> <ListItem><ItemContent> ● Application of NMEWS has increased national capability to tackle pests. </ItemContent></ListItem></List> The importance of food security, especially in combating the problem of acute hunger, has been underscored as a key component of sustainable development. Considering the major challenge of rapidly increasing demands for both food security and safety, the management and control of major pests is urged to secure supplies of major agricultural products. However, owing to global climate change, biological invasion (e.g., fall armyworm), decreasing agricultural biodiversity, and other factors, a wide range of crop pest outbreaks are becoming more frequent and serious, making China, one of the world’s largest country in terms of agricultural production, one of the primary victims of crop yield loss and the largest pesticide consumer in the world. Nevertheless, the use of science and technology in monitoring and early warning of major crop pests provides better pest management and acts as a fundamental part of an integrated plant protection strategy to achieve the goal of sustainable development of agriculture. This review summarizes the most fundamental information on pest monitoring and early warning in China by documenting the developmental history of research and application, Chinese laws and regulations related to plant protection, and the National Monitoring and Early Warning System, with the purpose of presenting the Chinese model as an example of how to promote regional management of crop pests, especially of cross border pests such as fall armyworm and locust, by international cooperation across pest-related countries.

Food Waste from the View of Circular Economy: A Systematic Review of International Literature

The limit of the linear economic model increased the interest in developing a new economic model based on a closed circle. The circular economy (CE) emerges as a model of sustainable, regenerative and restorative development, whose focus is to maintain products, food waste and natural resources at their highest level of usefulness and value over time. This paper aims to discuss the issue of food waste and how to preserve it through CE. The methodological procedure was the Systematic Literature Review (SLR), based on the protocol by Cronin, Ryan &amp; Coughlan (2008), using the time frame of the last ten years, 2009 to 2019, considering papers published in international journals. It was clear that there is an accumulation of articles published in European countries, focused on attempts to implement circular models that aim to mitigate food waste, and that the transition to this model is essential due to the depletion of natural resources and negative socio-economic externalities. This work highlights the CE processes and benefits of food waste. In addition, it provides suggestions, management, and policy contributions for future research. The valorization and treatment of food waste could contribute to the mitigation of acute hunger in developing countries and the creation of value in food supply chains (FSC).

Upcycling to a circular food system

Upcycling to a circular food system

Food security issues: root causes and directions for the future

The second United Nations Sustainable Development Goal is Zero Hunger. The issue stems from multiple root-causes that must be recognised and managed, to reduce the consequences of acute hunger and undernourishment. Two closely related topics are food security and food poverty. While the characterisation of these two problems is different, their causes are closely related. Aotearoa, New Zealand is confronting these problems as well, even though the country is exporting a significant amount of food from agricultural production. This paper is a realist review of food security issues in Aotearoa, New Zealand; the method aligns with selected secondary reviews devised for complex policy interventions. The focus is on several interdependent topics such as the living wage, eating habits, and the food system. While income is the most obvious aspect of a living wage, it is important to be aware of many encompassing factors such as eating habits. The food system is directly related to these issues and needs to evolve simultaneously and considerably. Fortunately, Aotearoa, New Zealand is rich in resources and culture; Māori culture influences our food industry. This paper will particularly discuss hāngī (traditional, earth-cooked food) and its connection to agriculture in Aotearoa, New Zealand. The paper outlines an alternative food system as one possible response that can be developed and adopted in the future.

Pathway to achieving sustainable food security in Sub‐Saharan Africa: The role of agricultural mechanization

According to the World Health Organization (2020), many parts of the world have demonstrated potentials for acute hunger and famine. Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) actively feature in this category due to geopolitical crises and other humanitarian challenges. Despite efforts by SSA governments, agricultural productivity continues to be inadequate in meeting nutritional needs across Africa. Thus, in the presence of economic expansion, vast land, and labor resources, this study investigates the role of mechanization as an important factor for increased agricultural productivity in SSA. Data on 25 SSA countries over 17 years are used. Empirical results from System Generalized Method of Moments show that among other variables, mechanization is a significant factor influencing agricultural productivity. Consequently, in light of the bid for higher agricultural productivity, government investment in mechanization becomes a priority. Also, apart from the fact that many African countries are at the point where more land must be brought under development to satisfy expanded market needs, larger investments in mechanization appear imperative.

Experimental investigation of a novel waste heat based food drying system

World Food Program reports that more than 821 million people are subjected to acute hunger despite sufficient amount of food being produced. One of the underlying reasons is the food wastage due to poor preservation techniques and the energy cost of the established processing methods. Drying techniques are an effective means for reducing post-harvest food loss. However, the existing industrial drying techniques consume 20–25% of the energy used in the food processing chain. A system that utilizes the waste heat recovered from a diesel engine exhaust flue gas is proposed and an initial prototype tested. The system requires no external energy to operate the drying process; hence no CO2 is generated as a result of this process. Furthermore, the entropy is reduced by 0.206 kJ/kg.K as the overall thermal efficiency increases by 8.46%. It is estimated that the payback period is in the range of 321 days. Drying experiments were conducted to assess the dried food quality of five different staple food products, i.e. potato, pumpkin, carrot, radish, and apple. The drying performance (moisture removal rate) and product quality (Color analysis and Vitamin C analysis) conformed to the current industry standard. The overall performance assessment suggests that the system has the potential to reduce current levels of emission in food drying process and could be a stepping stone towards the development of energy-efficient food preservation technique.

Addressing the COVID-19 Nutrition Crisis in Vulnerable Communities: Applying a Primary Care Perspective.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and subsequent public health interventions have disrupted food systems all over the world. In the Philippines, where stringent lockdown rules have been implemented, households living in poverty have had to rely largely on food aid in the form of food packs distributed by local governments and private donors. An evaluation of the commonly distributed food items reveals a diet that addresses acute hunger but does not contain sufficient nutrients to promote and maintain health. Such a diet puts low-income households at a greater risk of acute and chronic disease. The negative health impact of commonly distributed food packs on food aid-dependent households shine a light on how the COVID-19 pandemic and public health policies exacerbate health inequities. A primary care perspective is essential in creating food security policies that can effectively address acute hunger and malnutrition without contributing to the long-term deleterious effects of inadequate nutrition on the health of indigent communities.

Acute hunger does not always undermine prosociality

It has been argued that, when they are acutely hungry, people act in self-protective ways by keeping resources to themselves rather than sharing them. In four studies, using experimental, quasi-experimental, and correlational designs (total N = 795), we examine the effects of acute hunger on prosociality in a wide variety of non-interdependent tasks (e.g. dictator game) and interdependent tasks (e.g. public goods games). While our procedures successfully increase subjective hunger and decrease blood glucose, we do not find significant effects of hunger on prosociality. This is true for both decisions incentivized with money and with food. Meta-analysis across all tasks reveals a very small effect of hunger on prosociality in non-interdependent tasks (d = 0.108), and a non-significant effect in interdependent tasks (d = −0.076). In study five (N = 197), we show that, in stark contrast to our empirical findings, people hold strong lay theories that hunger undermines prosociality.

The famished soul: resonance and relevance of the Irish famine to Irish men’s accounts of hunger following immigration to England during the 1950s and 1960s

ABSTRACTThis paper uses a hermeneutically informed analysis to reveal how Irish men’s accounts of acute hunger on arrival in England during the 1950s and 1960s resonate with archival oral accounts of the Great Hunger in Ireland during the 1840s. The paper makes the case for a new continuum of memory which foregrounds the corporeal and spiritual dimensions of acute food deprivation and its significance over space, place and time. I argue that a corporeal-spiritual medium of memory represents a two-sided reality, a pivotal yet nebulous point of contact which exemplifies our understanding of how discourses of hunger recounted over the course of a century help shape reconstructions of Irish sociocultural identity. The symbolic potency of hunger and particular foods to expose a distinct moral and social order during both time periods is examined. I also show how this more burnished and fluid medium of corporeal and spiritual memory highlights the importance of intracultural diglossia in respect of Irish sociocultural identity and with it, the interface between individual, collective and folk memory.

Hunger and socioeconomic background additively predict impulsivity in humans

Impulsivity refers to the valuation of future rewards relative to immediate ones. From an evolutionary perspective, we should expect impulsivity to be sensitive to the current state of the organism (for example, hunger), and also its long-term developmental history. There is evidence that both current hunger and childhood socioeconomic deprivation are individually associated with impulsivity, but it is not known how these combine. For example, acute hunger might over-ride social gradients in baseline impulsivity, or alternatively, individuals who have experienced greater deprivation might respond more strongly to acute hunger. We aimed to investigate whether hunger and childhood socioeconomic deprivation act additively or interactively in three studies utilising delay discounting tasks. Childhood socioeconomic deprivation was measured using childhood postcode and a self-report measure. In two studies hunger was experimentally manipulated (n = 95 & n = 93 respectively), and in the third we simply measured natural variation. We employed a standard hypothetical delay discounting task in two studies, and a behavioural task with experienced delays in the third (n = 330). Although the individual studies varied in which predictors were statistically significant, when we meta-analysed them, a clear pattern emerged. Hunger predicted greater impulsivity; childhood socioeconomic deprivation predicted greater impulsivity; and these two effects were additive rather than interactive.

Food-Aid Quality Correlates Positively With Diet Quality of Food Pantry Users in the Leket Israel Food Bank Collaborative.

Introduction: In many affluent countries, including Israel, networks of food banks and pantries have increasing responsibility to alleviate endemic poverty and food insecurity. While they may relieve acute hunger, their long-term influence on health and well-being is poorly understood.Methods: An exploratory cross-sectional telephone survey assessed both adequacy and quality of food aid provided via food pantries in the Leket Israel food bank network, in relation to recipients' dietary needs and health. The quality of food baskets and recipient diets were given a Healthy Portions Score (HPS) to measure compliance with Government guidelines for a “Basic Healthy Food Basket,” and a Nutrient Density Score (NDS) to capture how well the food achieved the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vital macro and micronutrients. A total of 105 pantry users were surveyed from 16 pantries around the country.Results: The basket HPS correlated positively and highly significantly with dietary quality (individual NDS) after adjusting for gender, marital status and country of birth (standardized β = 0.22, p = 0.03). Nearly half (46%) reported food insecurity with hunger. Two thirds were overweight or obese, and anemia, cardiovascular and metabolic disease were prevalent. The average food basket provides 30% of energy, 55% of protein, 50% of fiber, but only 33% or less of the household requirement for most minerals and vitamins. Only 60% of participants met their estimated energy requirements, and the intake of many essential micronutrients was well below the RDA. Fruits and vegetable portions contributed by Leket Israel correlated positively with the dietary quality (individual NDS) after adjustment for the same covariates (Standardized β = 0.20, p = 0.04).Discussion: A structured telephone survey proved a feasible method to study the impact of food-aid quality on the nutrition and health of food pantry users in an affluent country. Food baskets with fruits, vegetables and higher quality nutrition were correlated with healthier diets among the recipients. Data correlating food-aid quality and recipient diet and health is essential to effective policy making.

Neuro-cognitive Ramifications of Fasting and Feeding in Obese and Non-obese Cases.

Preliminary studies have claimed that short term fasting would negatively affect school performance and cognition. In contrast some other studies have reported not important decline in cognition and executive function as a result of fasting. Also limited attention was generally devoted to dietetic regimens, nutritional status and body weight. Yet neuroscience and neuro-cognitive aspects of acute hunger on the electroencephalogram and differences between obese and non-obese cases is not well understood. Hence, we decided to design and perform a case study in a more controlled situation similar to reality. Therefore, we performed several examinations including subjective tests (for eating status) and objective tests (cognitive tests such as Stroop effect and Sternberg search and electroencephalogram measures such as steady-state visual evoked potential and auditory steady-state responses) for an obese and a non-obese academic case before and after a simple breakfast. The results showed that the breakfast effects on the neuro-cognitive functions depend on either obesity status, nutritional status of the case or the type of cognitive task (visual or auditory). This paper would open a new insight to answer some important questions about the neuro-cognitive implications of fasting and feeding in obese and non-obese human cases.