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To fight hunger, wipe out poverty in poor countries

The report is a damning portrayal of the human psyche as we wage war against each other and against nature.

World hunger is rising because droughts, floods and cold blasts are driving people farther from their homes and habitats. Nothing's changed in three years. We are content with the status quo. Our failure to intervene and stop a spiralling crisis where excess food is produced, which is then wasted despite us consuming more while those in the urban and rural wilderness wither away from want of a morsel, is shocking. We are bullying, bludgeoning and busting our common futures away by not doing enough for those who cannot afford one square meal a day.
The report is a damning portrayal of the human psyche as we wage war against each other and against nature. Cultivable land is drying up, agriculture is ignored and construction magnates build concrete jungles in the name of development. What's worse is that wars appear endless and permanent. We pay lip service to larger development goals and indulge in open, corporate charity, revelling in the pride of giving while taking our eyes off pressing issues that concern people - food, water, clothes, a roof over every head.
We are so politically correct that the thought of being poor and hungry is discomfiting to us. In a sense we discriminate with this stand-offish attitude to hunger - the poor are delicately called under-privileged, as if they will be offended when all they worry about is their next meal. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018 says the scourge is worse in Africa and in South America. It estimates that 821 million people - one in nine - were malnourished last year. The irony is that 672 million adults - more than one in eight - are now obese.
New technology and farming practices are helping us produce more food but the distribution is uneven or goes only to those who can afford it. Here, countries must plug the gaps to ensure essential food reaches the poor. Poverty alleviation needs a global response. Agriculture should become the core of all development and make farming lucrative for the youth to prevent mass migrations to cities. Future cities should be sustainable and eco-friendly, not just smart. A global plan to wipe out poverty could be considered if countries are willing to come together for the greater good.