Famine

In a world where rich countries often have food in excess, the ocurrence of famine seems paradoxical and yet they still occur regularly. This volume brings together contributions from experts in the field of disaster relief, economics, ecology and human nutrition, and aims to provide an understanding of the nature and causes of famine, and how it can be predicted. The issues considered are both practical and theoretical, reflecting the experience of the contributors. Various questions are raised: are famines caused by natural calamities of the failure of the socio-economic system? How does famine differ from chronic malnutrition? What are the nutritional diseases associated with famine? The book suggests that solutions to the problem can be found, but this depends upon a willingness to cross the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines.