WORLD HUNGER Too many people or too little food?

Mapping the Global Food Crisis (1972-1975).

“More than half the world’s 4 billion people live in hunger.” – Text, lower left.

The Global Food Crisis of 1972-1975 was a period of severe food shortages and rising prices that affected nations around the world, ultimately causing nearly 2 million deaths by starvation and nutrition-related diseases.

Triggered by a combination of factors such as adverse weather conditions, poor harvests, increased demand, and political shortsightedness, the crisis led to widespread famine and hunger in many developing countries. International efforts, including the establishment of the World Food Programme, were initiated to address the crisis and were largely successful by the end of 1975.

This brightly colored overview of the global famine was published in March of 1975 by Newsweek, Inc. A simple political map categorizes each country into lacking, meeting, or exceeding its national food requirements, with the latter classification confined largely to Europe, North America, and the Soviet Union.

Statistics in the lower right and descriptive text provide additional context from the perspective of an apparently blameless and wildly magnanimous American. “Increased aid may help, temporarily. But it does not solve the problems. Unless nations manage to balance their needs and resources, even the most generous aid may simply postpone the day when there are more hungry people than the world can feed.”

Source.