JaQuess Wynn
Jayantha Jayman
GS101: Intro to Political Economy
November 2, 2012

I. Title

Shifting the Blame From the Poor to the Privileged: Global Poverty, World Hunger, Population Growth, and the Misappropriation of Wealth in Third World Countries

I. Introduction

At a broad level, globalization is an increase in the impact on human activities of forces that span national boundaries. These activities can be economic, social, cultural, political, technological, or even biological, as in the case of disease. Additionally, all of these realms are connected through capitalism. Globalization, as defined by McMichael is “integration on the basis of a project pursuing "market rule on a global scale.” Under McMichael’s definition of capitalism, the availability of food is becoming a major issue. And that is driven by a number of factors. Both the ability to grow enough food especially under a changing climate, as well as increases in population and greater demand for food from an increasing discerning population that wants more meat in their diet. This is driving up demand for food and that is basically pushing up prices which not only affects the ability to buy the diversity of food that we want to eat, but it particularly affects people in the developing world for whom food is a major cost in their finances.

The evolution of food production plays a big role in its current role in the capitalist economy. Farmers no longer produce food for others to eat, but rather, corporations produce food as something for people to buy. Food is a commodity. And they will only produce what people will buy. More of the best land is being used to produce commodities that have a large market, but that are slightly nutritious, which results in unnecessary waste. Production of other non-food crops is crucial as well. Cotton, cocoa, tea, and coffee are a few of the