Question

While famines are usually triggered by severe weather conditions such as droughts or hurricanes, starvation that results from these natural events is often made worse by __________.

Answer 1

Starvation resulting from natural events like droughts is often worsened by poor governmental macroeconomic policies, land tenure crises, poverty, and failures in food distribution systems.

Step-by-step explanation:

While famines are usually triggered by severe weather conditions such as droughts or hurricanes, starvation that results from these natural events is often exacerbated by governmental macroeconomic policies, societal structure issues, and distribution failures. For instance, during the Ethiopian famine, even though there was a significant food shortage within the country, Ethiopia continued to export food overseas. Transportation and safety issues were contributors, but the root causes extended to a land tenure crisis and poverty, which were as impactful as the drought and desertification themselves. Similarly, Amartya Sen's research suggests that famines or food insecurity frequently result from the failure of government macroeconomic policy. Sen emphasizes that macroeconomic policies focused on stable inflation, full employment, education of women, and preservation of property rights can ameliorate starvation and lead to more equitable food distribution.