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COVID-19 is becoming a world hunger epidemic too: Jim Cornelius of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Unemployment, food supply disruptions, likely food production shortfalls a problem in developing countries. Starvation a real concern now. "We've already begun to see disruptions."
Asks for countries to not block food exports to needy nations.
"For very, very poor families, this is catastrophic." Nadia Khouri, aid organizer in a Lebanese refugee camp, about how unemployment and poverty cause famine
Makes me think about what I learned about the 1943 Bengal famine: government bureaucrats didn't understand how famine could exist beside ample stocks of food in storage. If you have no money, you can't buy food. Famine can have an economic base
"They cannot provide for their families." Lillian Zheke of Zimbabwe about conditions in some parts of southern Africa. COVID-19 has thrown masses of people into poverty
Central America: People leaving the cities can end up burdening rural communities with more mouths to feed, but food sources often disrupted: Cornelius
Do dev countries need to have food rationing in order to stave off starvation? (I asked this Q) A: J Cornelius says it would be very complex to manage. Better idea: keep food supply chains working. Remove constraints. Get money into people's hands so they can buy food
I really get the sense the general public in developed nations underestimates the danger of food shortages - even here in rich nations - from the COVID-19 lockdown. Food production could slump this summer and borders be closed by populist politicians looking at reelection
