‘One in every five children born in the Third World will not live to reach the age of five. In the majority of cases, death is directly or indirectly due to malnutrition.'
The author, Stanley Barnes quotes a United Nations’ report that at least 200 million children suffer malnutrition. Of these, 10 million are likely to die, and 90 million could not withstand a serious illness. Many that live will be robbed by lack of protein of the chance of normal mental and physical development.
He declares: ‘The fact that we tolerate such an appalling wastage of human life in a world where there is enough food to meet the basic needs of every person cannot be justified.’
As a dairy expert, he says a perfect food for infants, particularly for meeting protein needs, is milk. Yet in Europe alone, some 2 million tonnes of skim milk powder is fed to animals when it would be enough to provide every one of those 200 million children with a glass of protein-rich milk every day.
Stanley Barnes also surveys the extent of poverty in the Third World and employment prospects; world food needs; aid and international trade. He stresses the need for long-term integrated schemes to aid developing countries rather than ad hoc measures.
This is a ‘first class compendium of information on the strategy for ending hunger.’ A book for the layman and expert.
English
