25-20
LOOKING AT DIFFERENT FOOD PROBLEMS
AND THEIR CAUSES
After you have observed your community and perhaps taken a simple survey to
help determine how severe the local food problems are, the next step is to find out
the causes of the problems. In trying to analyze community food problems and their
causes, one of the key questions to ask is:
Do families often have difficulty getting ENOUGH FOOD?
(Do families sometimes go HUNGRY?)
• If the answer is NO, then the main nutrition problems probably
result from people’s eating habits. These can be considered
cultural problems because they are related to people’s
customs, beliefs, and attitudes. However, depending on what
foods are available, economic and polictical problems may also
be a factor.
• If the answer is YES, then the people’s main problems probably
have to do with the growing, producing, storing, or buying of
food. These are mostly economic, technical, and political
problems (the problems of poverty). However, people’s eating
habits may also be a factor.
To help in finding the causes of children’s food problems, Judith and Richard
Brown (nutrition workers in Zaire, Africa) have developed a checklist of basic
questions. These are grouped according to 3 problem areas: PRODUCING FOOD,
BUYING FOOD, and FFEDING CHILDREN. Nearly all the ‘yes’ answers on :he
checklist are danger signs that indicate food problems in the community. With the
Browns’ permission, we reproduce the list here.*
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF FOOD PROBLEMS IN YOUR COMMUNITY?
A CHECKLIST OF QUESTIONS
A. DO FAMILIES OFTEN LACK FOOD? (DO SOME PEOPLE GO HUNGRY?)
If YES, goto B-1.
If NO, gotoD-1.
B. PRODUCING FOOD
B-1 Can the families produce some of their own food?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If YES, goto B-2.
If NO, goto C-1.
B-2 Are the family fields too small?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B-3 Are there too few adults who do farm work?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B-4 Could the families improve their farming methods cheaply and
easily?
B-5 Could the families choose better crops?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B-6 Do the families raise things to sell, instead of food to eat? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B-7 Do the families fail to keep enough seed for the next year’s planting?. . . . . .
*From Finding the Causes of Child Malnutrition, by Judith and Richard Brown, available from TALC
(p. Back-3) or from PATH (Presbyerian Answer to Hunger), 611 Medlock Road, Decatur, GA 30033
U.S.A. www.presbyteriananswertohunger.org