Famine

Famine is a widespread condition in which a large percentage of people in a country or region have little or no access to adequate food supplies. Many people believe that famines are food shortages caused solely by underproduction. However, in many cases, famine has multiple causes. A natural disaster, such as a long period of drought, flooding, extreme cold, typhoons, insect infestations, or plant disease, combined with government decisions on how to respond to the disaster, can result in a famine. The famine might be initiated by a natural disaster, and a government's inability or unwillingness to deal with the consequences of that event may magnify the effects. This happened in North Korea in the 1990s when government mismanagement of food supplies and an inequitable rationing policy led to a famine that killed over two million people by some estimates. Human events also lead to famine. A major human cause of famine is warfare. During war, crops are destroyed, either intentionally or as a result of combat. In addition, supply lines and routes are cut off, and food cannot be distributed or is prevented from being distributed by combatants. Forced starvation for political reasons is another cause of famine.