Final answer:
The author uses the Ad Council's focus on hunger to illustrate that despite ample food supplies, systemic issues lead to malnourishment in the U.S. Orshansky's work on the poverty line and the comparison between U.S. and Yemen highlight issues in economic redistribution leading to hunger.
Step-by-step explanation:
The author uses the "hook" of the Ad Council's focus groups and slogan strategically to emphasize the gravity of the hunger in America issue. By referencing a body that specializes in bringing attention to public issues, the author sets the stage for a discussion on the prevalence and severity of food insecurity. This establishes a premise that despite the abundance of food, there are systemic problems causing malnourishment among certain populations in the United States.
In her work at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Orshansky highlighted that the average family spent one-third of its income on food. Through this, she proposed a new way of understanding the poverty line, suggesting it should be three times the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet for a given family size. This method foregrounds the economic challenges associated with securing sufficient, nutritious food, thereby shedding light on the complexities of hunger and poverty in America.
Juxtaposing the situations in wealthier nations like the United States with countries like Yemen, explains that hunger is not exclusive to less wealthy nations but stems from an inequitable distribution of resources. This comparison is used to suggest that countries need to rethink how they produce and distribute resources to eliminate hunger.