Nicholas Hildyard

Nicholas Hildyard, formerly on the editorial staff of the Ecologist, is now with the Cornerhouse, a research organization in New York City. In the following viewpoint, Hildyard argues that the main culprit in perpetuating hunger on the planet is not the growing population but the market forces that deliberately induce food scarcity in order to keep the production and distribution of food crops profitable. In his view, landowners interested only in profit also typically ignore the ecological damage that agricultural practices often cause; this undermines the capacity of the land to produce food, and further exacerbates worldwide hunger.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In the author’s opinion, what forces help prevent starvation in commons-based regimes, and what forces contribute to food scarcity in market-based regimes?
2. According to Hildyard...