Siegfried Poepperl (Free to use under the Unsplash License)
Despite the millions of starving children across the globe, possible solutions have not been acted on. Many might feel helpless in the fight against food insecurity, but veganism can be a start.
Veganism and world hunger
Across the globe, there are countries struggling with starving citizens. World hunger has been an issue for too long when there is plenty of food to go around. A possible solution to this worldwide issue already exists, but nothing is being acted on.
It isn’t a matter of the Earth not being able to provide enough food for its growing population, but the food itself is what needs to be revised. Agricultural land is divided in two different categories, animal raising or plant producing. These separate industries are used to cultivate food in one way or another. However, one option is far more sustainable and beneficial for the fight to end world hunger, let alone environmentally friendly.
Crops are grown to either feed humans or feed animals that will eventually feed humans. The consumption of these animal products isn’t sustainable for our planet and especially our population. Farmed animals consume five times as much food as humans making it the largest waste of resources that could be used to produce fruits, vegetables, and grains for humans. People are starving in every country and animals are the main source of their food deficits. One-third of all landmass is dedicated to raising animals for food, including the amount of space it takes to grow what satiates them. Land currently being used for animal agriculture could sustain more than twice as many people if it converted to crop yielding. If distributed properly to those in need, lives would be saved.
“Replacing all animal-based items with plant-based replacement diets can add food to feed 350 million additional people,” published by the National Academy of Sciences.
The grain produced in third world countries is given to feed livestock, not the mouths of their people. There would be a 70 percent increase in the amount of food available if animal products were eliminated. More crops could be saved from going through the energy diminishing biological processes of animals, and given to people who are in need. If these farms are replaced to grow edible-plants, there is potential to end world hunger.
This proposed solution has been outlined and some difficulties are apparent. There are incongruities between each country’s economy and access to food. Nutritional value differences in the two diets can’t be disregarded. The less amount of food people have to eat, the more nutritionally dense it should be. This will ensure that they have more energy for longer. While these are all true statements, if animal agriculture is converted into plant-producing land, far more food will become available and inexpensive. The cycle would be a positive feedback loop in which one problem is solved after another.
While veganism will in no way solve world hunger in its entirety, it’s at least a start. More food will reach people’s tables instead of being used for animal agriculture.
The Dropout: the first three episodes
In this weekly column, Wingspan’s Editor-in-Chief talks about the Hulu show, The Dropout, inspired by the true story of Elizabeth Holmes.
The story of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes, first captured by investigative reporter John Carreyrou in what became the book Bad Blood, is cinematic in and of itself- before any creative liberties or Oscar-nominated actors are added to help push the thrill along. That being said, there were so many different ways Hulu’s The Dropout could’ve gone wrong.
The Dropout could have been the same mess as Netflix’s Inventing Anna; a haphazard attempt to capture the story of a woman too complicated to be examined in a vapid, black and white lens. I was wary that the show would glamorize Holmes and turn her into some feminist anti-hero and fail to develop any of the depth within the cautionary tale that is Theranos’s disastrous fall from grace.
Luckily, that’s not the case with The Dropout. Within the first four episodes, screenwriter Liz Merriweather pieces together a brilliantly paced, deeply entertaining, near-thriller, examining the story of Elizabeth Holmes with careful nuance without ever resorting to putting Holmes in an undeserved sympathetic light.
Right off the bat, the casting is absolutely incredible- Amanda Seyfried manages to capture Holmes’ absurd mannerisms and quirks without creating a Saturday Night Live character out of her, grounding the role within the insane plot.
The writing is phenomenal and the pilot reads like a comic book character’s origin story, slowly establishing the context in which Holmes was raised. The show is in large part chronological, and we first see Seyfried as an 18-year-old Holmes, freshly admitted to Stanford. We get introduced to her already cocky and somewhat off-putting ambition with scenes that provide some insight into her characterization and the mindset that eventually created Theranos.
As episode five drops Thursday night, I’m looking forward to seeing how the show tackles the story of Ian Gibson, who played a major role in the fourth episode. Each episode so far has been cinematic, with excellent pacing akin to a psychological thriller. The Dropout has genuinely proven to be good television- a must-watch for anyone, even those who have no interest in the Theranos scandal.