Don't Drink That Six Pack! There Are Starving Kids in Africa!

Upon a recent trip to the U.K., I made several observations, as follows:

A billboard advertising Stella Artois beer boasts that it contains "just four ingredients". This ad, tactfully plastered from Manchester to London to Oxford, displays a campaign toting the product's simplicity; this particular type of alcohol contains "hops, malted barley, maize and water". With each component being either edible or multifaceted, one must raise the question: does the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages do potential harm in the battle against world hunger?

Hops, a primary item in beer production, is derived from a flower used for herbal medicines and other beverages. Barley is a type of grain used in cereals, bread and as animal feed. Corn is utilized for the consumption and creation of ethanol and is a staple to the diet of many diverse areas. Water, which forms the majority of the Earth, is essential to human life. Man can live without food for a month, but will die within days without water. A clean, fresh water supply is uncommon is several parts of the globe; many countries rely on numerous methods of irrigation, as well as aid from international organizations.

Much of the crop supply and farming fields that reap these ingredients are geard towards alcohol production. Yet with at least 800 million people undernourished, a number that is rapidly rising, should so much food be used to creat a luxury item? The statistics measuring alcohol abuse in the United States are frightening - countless lives are lost owning to alcoholism, drunk driving and binge drinking. Globalization has demonstrated the interrelation of each country to another. With different regions encountering food shortages, should an adolescent in America drink a six-pack of beer when the water used to brew it could go to a family in India? Bear in mind that five gallons of beer requires five gallons of water to generate.

Nevertheless, in a capatilist world, the cultivation of brewing crops may neer cease. A country may refuse to risk rapid economic development for food stability. For example, China is the third leading planter of hops, but the second largest undernourished population on the globe.

It is my belief that a nation should neer reach a point where the health of its citizens is sacrificed for profit. The manufacturing of liquor of all forms should be drastically reduced or eliminated within the next twenty years. Nevertheless, I am one of a minority who shares this view.

Arguments for or against this? Go on now, tell me!

Regards,
Kanika