Peter Singer’s essay was written in 1972. It has been 45 years, and yet famines are still an unfortunate reality. In fact, we are currently witnessing another mass-starvation event in South Sudan, where, according to the U.N., “the greatest humanitarian crisis since 1945 is unfolding.” (CITE). The famine has impacted nearly 5 million people, and I expected to get severely worse. And the U.N. has also warned of imminent famines in Yemen and Nigeria. Singer’s belief that we can save humanity by donating as much as we can, without sacrificing anything of moral importance, is simply unfeasible. There would never be enough willing people to make a difference. Also, giving cash and food assistance to starving countries will, in a way, simply postpone the true problem. No developed country has ever experienced a famine. Only developing countries, who do not have the resources to be able to insure themselves against mass starvation, experience famines. Helping end a famine through cash and food may save the people starving in some third-world country, but their children will be just as vulnerable to famines. And because of the inability of cash and food assistance to permanently end famines, we need to provide developing nations with population control methods, better education, and productive technology.
In his essay, Singer…show more content… We can have a much better impact on humanity by helping third-world populations become more literate and by sharing our technological advances. Furthermore, this would also prevent nations from making mistakes that could lead to famines. Some causes of mass starvation are improper food distribution techniques, unstable farming methods, crop failures, and a non-existent economy. But these types of causes can be prevented by educating a population and providing productive
