If there’s so much food, why are millions still hungry?

Since the days of Norman Borlaug, producers of all kinds, from industrial grain farmers to cell-cultured meat entrepreneurs, have claimed there simply won’t be enough to feed a growing global population unless some kind of action is taken—like, for instance, the widespread adoption of high-yield crops and chemical fertilizers that galvanized Borlaug’s Green Revolution. But is more food really the answer? American farmers already grow so much corn, soy and milk that some have received billions of dollars in government aid to offset the low prices, and pork giants say they can’t slow down their processing lines because there’s simply too many pigs coming through. Still, millions around the world remain hungry and famished. The reason for that, researchers tell NPR, is because they lack money, or because of their political circumstances. Hunger is a function of poverty and conflict, and isn’t solved simply by growing more food.