Food Equality: No Justice, No Peace
Expressing one's dissent towards what doesn't work within the society is a fundamental right of every citizen. Hence, when the masses take to the streets demanding justice and equality over racism and police brutality, pressure on politics increases and governments perceive it as a threat to the status quo.
In recent weeks we have witnessed the latest death of a black man, the result of disproportionate use of force by the police. During an eight-minute agony, the world watched, incredulous and helpless, a man exhaling his last breath under the severe and smug knee of a police officer in the exercise of his duties. Holding our breath as if this could give George Floyd a few more moments, we wondered: is there any residual trace of humanity in the cold and detached eyes of that police officer? Are those the eyes of a man who thinks he is untouchable?
In the US and around the world, waves of people are marching because they're exhausted by this brutality. They claim the right to a life without disparity and discrimination due not only to the colour of their skin but also to their status, sexual orientation, thought or belief. They march determined to cancel once and for all the injustice and iniquity of a society that by its very constitution, proclaims itself free.
A freedom that is only an appearance since, once we look at the data, we realise that even though slavery has been officially abolished, it has only taken different forms over the centuries. This society of equals, in which everyone has the same chances as long as you work hard, is nothing more than a well-told fairy tale. A story of dreams and desires, sometimes or often imaginary, which we believe because it makes us comfortable, out of habit or simply to look away from reality.
Many people still fail to recognise themselves as characters in this fairy tale — namely, all those who suffer the weight of this fallacy on their shoulders. When you start looking, it's not difficult to find examples of this disparity around the world. Police violence against black people is, in fact, only part of the more general iniquity that some people suffer daily.
Racial disparities are, in fact, part of a broader problem of social inequity. Ethnic minorities form the majority of the most deprived group, who often experience different treatment than their peers.
If all this represents the unacceptable normality of the most developed societies, it becomes a tragic daily life for those who live in the poorest and least developed countries.
Taking as a starting point the data about the level of malnutrition, we can outline a much more general pattern of world inequity which has been going on for centuries. A recent study on the level of food insecurity in the world conducted by FAO is clear "from a total of 2 billion suffering from food insecurity, 1.04 billion (52 percent) are in Asia; 676 million (34 percent) are in Africa; and 188 million (9 percent) are in Latin America."
The concept of food insecurity refers to the ability, in the long run, to achieve minimum nutrition standards. These are particularly difficult to satisfy in developing countries since, as the same study points out "as the level of income falls, not only does the prevalence of food insecurity increase, but so does the proportion of severe food insecurity over the total. In 2018, low-income countries, with a total population of only 695 million, were home to 434 million food-insecure individuals (62 percent of the total), 190 million of whom (equivalent to 27 percent of the total population) were severely food insecure. In contrast, high-income countries were home to 102 million food-insecure individuals (9 percent of the total), of whom 21 million (barely 2 percent of the total) were considered to be severely food insecure."
Sadly, knowing that 39% of adults in the world are obese or overweight, it doesn't make things any better. On the contrary, it only shows how the asymmetrical distribution of wealth, which favours one share of the world population over another, is at the same time the leading motive of disparity and food insecurity on earth.
So their already precarious condition is further aggravated by economic crises, which often these countries passively suffer as part of a non-inclusive global economy, which places them in a disadvantaged position and some cases of dependence compared with more robust economies. As can still be seen from the FAO's report, the most affected are the countries whose economies depend mainly on the export and/or import of raw materials such as minerals, metals, fuels and raw agricultural products.
The inflationary rise in food prices, caused by the devaluation of national currencies against the US dollar, thus becomes the main factor in the increase of food insecurity. Which was the case in the years following the economic collapse of 2008 producing worrying levels of undernourishment in those countries highly dependent on the export and/or import of raw materials. Many of which are defined by FAO net food-importers or "countries or territories where the value of imports of basic foodstuffs outweighs the value of exports of basic foodstuffs ".
Therefore, economic phenomena such as economic slowdown or downturn "often lead to a rise in unemployment and decline in wages and incomes, challenging access to food and essential social services for the poor. People's access to high-quality, nutritious food, which tends to be less affordable – especially for poor people who spend a large portion of their income on food – can be affected, as can access to basic services such as health care."
The situation is slightly different in more developed countries, but it's still possible to recognise the same phenomena. The rising level of unemployment combined with social inequities has given rise to a class of people who have to deal with the ever-increasing difficulty of obtaining food, afford health insurance or even face necessary expenses such as education or a house.
The recent epidemic of Covid-19 has registered a higher number of victims among black people for the simple fact that they make up the majority of the working class, naturally more exposed to contagion as key workers - rounded up by all the other minorities equally victims of disparity.
Capitalism economy and the concentration of wealth in the greedy pockets of a few have aided the establishment of first and second class citizens. Distinct and separated according to economic conditions, social status or class privileges, all widely spread in societies, albeit in different forms. This vertical structure has not disappeared with modern democracies. However, these have supported the affirmation of fundamental human rights - e.g. the recent decision by the US Supreme Court to ban the removal of employees for being gay or transgender.
As for the 820 million undernourished people, the alternative is to migrate. Centuries after the abolition of slavery, there are still millions of people following the same routes. In a desperate search for opportunities, they go through a terrible journey fleeing famines and wars which are often conducted and funded from the same countries they try to reach. Thus they rely on the bloody hands of traffickers who make despair their source of income.
Those of them who make it, face a largely marked fate: to become the new slaves. Many without official rights or documents, will be forced to take place in the lower levels of society to be exploited by criminal organisations. No, not to become criminals themselves but more likely to thicken the ranks of a workforce whose products supply the shelves of our supermarkets. Resign to suffer the discrimination and violence that cost too many lives.
The knee on George Floyd's neck is the brutal metaphor of systemic violence suffered by those who, within this world, drown under the indifferent weight of a mentality that derides and crushes on all humanity.
NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE, summon the streets and squares of the whole world, reminding us that, as a matter of fact, "until the colour of a man skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes, I say war." (cit. Bob Marley)
Written by Bruno Cafiso
Ciao I'm Bruno, a Philosophy graduate, originally from Sicily, with a keen eye for human perception and decision-making process. Writing is my passion, but I'm also passionate about food, mainly because of its social and cultural aspect.
I'm curious and I love travelling, while I focus on what's essential in life, trying to live with less stuff and more meaning.