Misconception: Feeding the world versus feeding cows

Someone who is otherwise very rational told me recently that she had heard that the US could feed the world, but greedy corporate interests allowed people to starve so they can feed cows. First off this is true, if the US turned its might to feeding the world and neglected all other concerns we could do it, but we would destroy ourselves or go broke trying. Feeding people costs money, period. Sadly, the people most in need can’t pay and since they are really far away it costs a lot just to get the food to them. Also, what does the food do? It keeps them from starving till the next time food comes. The starving people in Africa aren’t starving because they are lazy or can’t find work; they are starving because they don’t have water and fertilizer to grow their own food. Giving them food buys them time; actually helping them would require fixing the real problems. Even more fun they don’t trust us, they take our money but they think for example, that we put stuff in the food to sterilize the women so we can just wait a few years and when they have all died off take over.
Now as for all this excess food we have, that is a myth too. Most of the grain grown in the US isn’t suitable for human consumption; it is at best animal feed. Grain of suitable quality for human consumption requires a lot more work and growing conditions than are much harder to come by, that just getting the grain to grow. Cows really don’t take that much food out of people’s mouths; cows eat what is not safe or palatable for human consumption and give us something that is: meat. Being a vegetarian and getting enough protein is hard, if we ate the diet cows eat we would enjoy a nice lingering death from malnutrition. Even if we ate soy, and beans for protein, it would improve but there isn’t enough human quality soy and beans available, and to make enough would require lots more land fall to the plow and be cultivated with a very chemical intensive style of agriculture. We domesticated animals not because they are cute but because they can turn things we can’t use as food into something we can. That means animals increase the efficiency of agriculture not decrease it.
Now if you want to help save people in the future write a check to help fund your state university system’s agricultural, medical and engineering research programs, or if you want to save people now join the Peace Corps and actually go and help them.