More on Europe, Africa, fishing, and survival

Dear Sirs and Madams,

I would like to supplement my previous article on piracy and fishing with an article from the Guardian.

Nobel laureate economist Amrtya Sen had argued that famine is not always the result of not there being enough to eat, but rather the basic condition of individuals not having enough to eat. In another words, there may be store houses filled with food or a body of water capable of supporting the population, yet the individuals may not have the entitlement to access the necessities. The resulting starvation is a famine. Sen noted that the famines of the 20th centuries have all been man-made disasters, a product of inept and misguided politics.

The Guardian journalist George Monbiot makes a similar argument in his criticism of the European Union's fishing policies. His article highlights the legal depletion of Senegalese food source by European fishing boats. While Senegal refuses to renew its fishing agreements, European fishermen found loopholes to continue fishing on an industrial scale.

According to ActionAid "fishing families that once ate three times a day are now eating only once or twice."

European trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, is trying to negotiate an economic partnership agreement which would legalize the dodges used by European fishermen.

Monbiot scathingly declares that "the rich world's governments will protect themselves from the political cost of shortages, even if it means that other people must starve."

The Guardian article recognizes two problems: Europe's failure to manage the fishing industry properly when it can no longer meet European demands and Europe's refusal to confront fishing lobbies and decommission all the surplus boats.

These problems were also noted in an Economist article few weeks ago.

Fishing is a larger issue than an average individual may presume. From piracy to an existential threat, as consumers, to what extent are we responsible? It's very unsettling to me that one part of the world is taking, albeit legally, the very basic items necessary for the survival of individuals in another part of the world.

Forget the millions of tons of emergency cereal poured into the African continent, what we need is a solution which establishes a long term means of sustenance.

God forgive us.

With much fear of what to come,
Yong Kwon