Long-term food emergencies arise for various reasons, but those that affect an entire population usually stem from two conditions, war or famine, often with war precipitating famine. In contrast to short-term emergencies can result in malnutrition and even starvation among large numbers of people.
War can result in limited food supplies or severe problems in food distribution. It may also result in vast numbers of displaced persons who are separated from their usual food sources. Feeding a military population requires sufficient food to support strenuous activity, often under situations where there is excessive waste. The food must be in a form that is easy to transport and prepare. Some nutrients may be lost when there are unfavorable conditions of storage, transport and preparation for armed forces, especially those on the move.
Because feeding a military population stresses both the usual systems for food distribution and the total food supply, during war the well being of civilian populations is also of concern. Most often the price of available food increases during war, rendering those least able to pay at risk for not having enough food of sufficient nutritional quality. Countries find that maintaining the food supply at an affordable price is a major challenge during wartime. A military siege of a city, blockades of ports, roads, rail fines and airports can interrupt the food supply of an entire nation, if that nation is a major importer of its food. Feed for food animals can be greatly restricted, limiting the local supply of meat, eggs and dairy products. Restrictions in the supplies of seeds and fertilizers can result in linfited production of staple crops.
War sometimes results in displaced civilian populations creating refugees that must be fed under poor conditions and over long periods of time. Transport and distribution of adequate food to refugee populations is especially difficult because the usual political and economic order governing food distribution has failed. Moreover, there is little to no opportunity for individuals to produce their own food.
The second major cause of long-term food emergencies, famine, is usually defined as a severe and widespread shortage of food that results in an increased death rate in a locale. In addition to being caused by war, famines are often the result of poor weather, most often lack of rainfall. But they may also be precipitated by widespread flooding of crop land, by a disease that destroys a staple crop, such as that which causedthe potato famine in mid 19th century Ireland, or by an insect infestation of the crop. Nonetheless, conditions such as a lack of rainfall or a major crop disease are frequently made more complicated by the fact that political and economic situations prevailing in the area cause portions of the population not to have access to affordable food.
Both war and famine have plagued humankind throughout history and continue to do so today. Formerly, it was sometimes the case that lack of food was so widespread and transportation was so limited that no food from outside sources could be made available to starving populations. The situation differs today, however, because food can be made available ahnost anywhere in the world, but famines still occur because of shortcomings in the political and economic situations attendant to food shortages.
Famines occur most often in areas where the capability for producing food is limited compared to the size of the 'population. In part it was for this reason that regions of China, India and Africa, prone historically to drought, were susceptible to famine. With its great capacity for food production and its relative political and economic stability, the United States has not experienced widespread food shortages since earliest colonial days, although the dust bowl of the 1930's may be seen as resulting in similar local hardships.
The involvement of the United States in long-term food emergencies during the and 20th centuries was in feeding its own military and civilian populations during war time and contributing to the relief of starving populations around the world. Some of the international relief effort was in collaboration with other nations through various international organizations.
Over the past 150 years much was learned about providing adequate nutrition during food emergencies. During the American Civil War, the focus was on supplying adequate calories and protein to the armies, but attempts were made to also provide foods to prevent scurvy. Although fresh potatoes were accurately believed to be antiscorbutic, other foods, such as pickles or even soft bread, were also supplied for this purpose. Scurvy was a continuing problem for troops on both sides of the conflict.
By the First World War, military rations had improved somewhat, but special efforts were required to increase food production to provide United States needs as well as needs in Europe. The federal government gave major attention to production, distribution and price of staple foods. It also made special efforts to provide relief to European nations such as Belgium and Russia. The years surrounding the First World War provided the first major experiences in international collaboration to meet long
By the Second World War the necessity of planning for adequate food supplies was recognized by all the involved nations. The United States collaborated with Canada and Great Britain to provide the food needs of the three nations. Great Britain, as a major importer of its food supply, felt especially vulnerable to military interruption of that supply. The United States and Canada, on the other hand, had to balance the willingness of their civilian populations to undergo food rationing with the need to supply military populations and contribute to the supply of the civilian population in Great Britain.
During the last half of the twentieth century, the United States played a major role in providing food relief to various parts of the world during famines and during wars, especially to war refugees. Although major political limitations remain to providing adequate relief, the ability to provide adequate food, especially for pregnant women, infants and young children, has improved. Nonetheless, malnutrition giving rise to increased gastrointestinal disease and susceptibility to bacterial, viral and parasitic infections, and sometimes even starvation, is still experienced during food emergencies arising from famine or war. As long as war and famine are part of human experience, work must continue to improve the world's ability to provide relief to those suffering long-term food emergencies. The even greater challenge is to prevent the development of these emergencies through fimdamental changes in the political and economic situations that breed them.
Patricia B. Swan, Ph.D.
Selected References: Famine and Famine Relief
Aykroyd, W.R. (1975) The Conquest of Famine. New York: Reader's Digest Press.
Bhatia, B.M. (199 1) Famines in India: A study in Some Aspects of the Economic History of India with Special Reference to Food Problem, 1860-1990, 3rd revised edition, Delhi: Konark Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
Cuny, F.C. (1999) Famine, Conflict and Response: A Basic Guide. West Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press.
Fisher, H.H. (1927) The Famine in Soviet Russia (1919-1923): The Operations of the American ReliefAdministration. Macmillan: New York.
Fitzgerald, D.A. (1965) Operational and Administrative Problems of Food Aid. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Golkin, A. (1987) Famine: A Heritage of Hunger. Claremont, CA: Regina Books.
Graves, R.A. (1917) "Fearful Famines of the Past," National Geographic Magazine 32: 69-90.
Maharatna, A. (1996) The Demography of Famines: An Indian Historical Perspective. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Mallory, W.H. (1928) China: Land of Famine. New York: Amer. Geographical Society.
Masefield, G.B. (1967) Food and Nutrition Procedures in Times of Disaster. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization.
Mayer, J. (1975) "Management of Famine relief," Science 188: 571
McAlpin, M.B. (1983) Subject to Famine: Food Crises and Economic Change in Western India, 1860-1920. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
McCance, R.A. (1975) "Famines of History and of Today," Proc. Nutr. Soc. 34: 161-166.
Passmore, R. (195 1) "Famine in India: A Historical Survey," Lancet, ii, 303
Robbins, Richard G., Jr., (1975) Famine in Russia, 1891-1892: The Imperial Government Responds to a Crisis. New York: Columbia University Press.
Scrimshaw, N. S. (1987) "The Phenomenon of Famine," Annual Reviews of Nutrition 7: 1-21.
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Stein, Z., Susser, M., Saenger, G., and Marolla, F. (1975) Famine and Human Development. The Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944-1945. New York: Oxford University Press.
Swedish Nutrition Foundation (197 1) Famine: A symposium dealing with Nutrition and Relief Operations in Times of Disaster. Blix, G., Hofvander, Y., & Vahlquist, B., eds. Uppsala: Almquist & Wiksells.
Waterlow, J.C. (1986) "Famine Relief in Africa," Lancet (Mar. 8) i, 547-548.
Weissman, B.M. (1974) Herbert Hoover and Famine Relief to Soviet Russia, 1921-1923. Palo Alta: Stanford University Press.
Woodharn-Smith, C.B.F. (1962) The Great Hunger: Ireland, 1845-49. London: Hamilton.
World Health Organization (195 1) Prevention and Treatment of Severe Malnutrition in Times of Disaster. WHO Tech. Rept. Ser. 45, Rome.
World Health Organization (1999) "Nutritional Emergencies," Chap. 8 in Rapid Health Assessment Protocolsfor Emergencies. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Young, H. and Jaspars, S. (1995) Nutrition Matters: People, Food and Famine. London: Intermediate Technology Publications, Ltd. (151, p.)
Selected References: Food Supplies During War
Air Raid Defence League (193 9) Food in War Time. London: Air Raid Defence League.
Antonov, AX (1947) "Children Born During the Siege of Lenningrad in 1942," Jour. Pediatrics 30: 250-259.
Beveridge, W. (1928) British Food Control. London: Oxford University Press.
Billings, J.D. (1888) Hardtack and Coffee. Boston: P.J. Fleming & Co.
Boeger, P.H. (195 8) "Hardtack and Burned Beans," Civil War History 4: 73-92.
Bourne, G. Nutrition and the War. (1942) London: Cambridge University Press.
Burger, G.C.E., J.C. Drummond and H.R. Sandstead (eds.) (1948) Malnutrition and Starvation in Western Netherlands: September 1944-July 1945: Parts I & II. The Hague: General Printing Office.
Council for Democracy (1942) U.S. -Arsenal for Food. Democracy in Action Series No. 11. New York City: Council for Democracy (Samuel Marcus Press).
Day, H.G. (1996) The Fruitful Role ofE. V McCollum in Herbert Hoover's U.S. Food Administration During World War I. Perspectives in Biol. and Med. 40: 7-17.
Hammond, R.J. (195 1) Food. Vol. I The Growth ofPolicy. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office.
Hoover, H. (1917) "The Food Armies of Liberty," National Geographic Magazine 32: 187
Hoover, H. (1917) "The Weapon of Food," National Geographic Magazine 32: 197-212.
McCance, R.A. and Widdowson, E.M. (1946) An Experimental Study of Rationing. Medical Research Council Special Report Series No. 254. London: His Majesty's Stationey Office.
McCance, R.A., Widdowson, E.M., Dean. R.F.A., and Thrussell, L.H. (195 1) Studies of Undernutrition, Wuppertal 1946-9. Medical Research Council Special Report Series No. 275, London: His Majesty's Stationery Office.
Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion, 1861-65. Part I. Vol. 1 Medical History (1875) Compiled under the direction of the Surgeon General Jose h K. Barnes, United States Army. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
Peterson, M.S., ed. (1970) Proceedings of the Symposium on Feeding the Military Man. U.S. Army Natick Laboratories.
Risch, E. (1989) Quartermaster Support of the Army: A History of the Corps, 1775-1939. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army.
Surface, F.M. (1928) The Grain Trade during the World War: Being a History of the Food Administration Grain Corporation and the United States Grain Corporation. New York: The MacMillan Company.
Surface, F.M. and Bland, R.L. (1,93 1) American Food in the World War and Reconstruction Period: Operations of the Organizations under the Direction of Herbert Hoover, 1914 to 1924. Stanford University Press.
Vandiver, F. E. (1944) "Texas and the Confederate Army's Meat Problem," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 47: 3-11.
Youmans, J.B. (1946) "Nutrition and the War," Journal of Medicine 23: 773-783.
Selected References on Starvation
Benedict, F.G. (1907) The Influence of Inanition on Metabolism. Pub. No. 77, Carnegie Institute of Washington.
Benedict, F.G., Miles, W.R., Roth, P., and Smith, H.M. (1919) Human Vitality and Efficiency under Prolonged Restricted Diet. Pub. No. 280, Carnegie Institute of Washington.
Keys, A., Brozek, J., Henschel, A., Mickelsen, 0., and Taylor, H.L. (1950) The Biology of Human Starvation. Vols. I and II. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Lusk, G. (1921) "The Physiological Effect of Undernutrition," Physiol. Rev. 1: 523-552.
