40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World by Howard G. Buffett

40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World Reviews

• 
  Michele Dubois

  The jacket of this book gives no mention to what I believe is one of Buffet's most important and repetitive themes throughout his experiences: "cultural disconnects" and "philanthropic colonialism." Stories/Chapters 22 and 23 discuss these two problems when it comes to philanthropy. It gave me pause, as a Rotarian, about the global work of well-meaning organizations. I question whether or not we are as thoughtful as we should be when it comes to providing aid and assistance to the developing world. Westerners - I think - although well-intentioned, believe that our way of life is best. But our ways are not the ways of the rest of the world. We need to consult with and involve those who are receiving the aid in the process so that we can make a successful and lasting impact. I admire what Howard Buffet and his family have done with their wealth, education, and power. But most of all, I appreciate his respect for cultural differences and courage to explore new ways to solve world hunger. Bravo!
• 
  Jennifer Schmidt

  An excellent book showing the importance and the flaws of international development projects and food assistance interwoven with vivid stories by Buffett and his global travels. I was surprised by some elements such as the ability of NGOs to monetize food assistance and heartened by other elements such as Buffett's recognition that development needs to be locally driven to provide the best solutions. As a farmer, dietitian, and someone who has live and worked in food and agriculture in Southern Africa, I really connected with Buffett and his passion for improving the lives of people around the world by some other means than just a transposition of American solutions.
• 
  Kate Elizabeth

  This book is well-written and well-researched, but my god, it's 400 pages of what feels like the same story. I found it interesting for the first ~150 pages and then it was a lot of skimming. The one-star rating is at least partly my fault, as well; I was unclear on the book's concept when I checked it out and am not in a "let me read about the plight of Africa" kind of mood, I guess. I did enjoy knowing that there are filthy rich people actually using their money to make a difference in the world, but it was sort of counterintuitively disheartening once I realized that you kind of need to be filthy rich to affect this sort of change. Anyway, not a fan. The end.
• 
  AJourneyWithoutMap

  In a sweeping new book, farmer, humanitarian, businessman, politician, photographer and risk-taker, Howard G. Buffett, founder and president of the philanthropic organization which bears his name, Howard G. Buffett Foundation, has laid out a determined road-map with an objective of ending hunger and poverty for the world's nearly one billion persistently disadvantaged populaces by 2045. Howard G. Buffett has chalked out a plan to invest more than $3 billion in a gamble to find answers to confront global food and water security issues. Buffett's new book, 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World, written with his son Howard W. Buffett, is a historic account of their journey to explore new approaches to help the world's most vulnerable people. Howard G. Buffett and Howard W. Buffett share their ideas and thoughts on the current global food security challenges and present opportunities for all to participate in their pursuit to end global hunger.
  
  40 Chances is more than a book. It's a message with five empowering principles we can use every day:
  Principle No. 1 - Roots: Seize opportunities that excite you, even if they start out seemingly small.
  Principle No. 2 - Bravery: From time to time, you've got to do something you don't necessarily know how to do.
  Principle No. 3 - Lessons: Harvest the right lessons and don't fear mistakes; grow from each of your efforts.
  Principle No. 4 - Challenges: Sometimes our resources and expertise do not match the needs of a given situation, so we have to be adaptable.
  Principle No. 5 - Hope: Make the most of your 40 Chances today, while preparing for the future - know that you're spending your chances wisely.
  
  In life you only have about 40 productive years to make an impact on the world. Discover the message beyond the book. Learn about the 40 Chances mindset. Discover ways to incorporate 40 Chances into your life.
  
  40 Chances gives us all inspiration to transform each of our limited chances into opportunities to change the world. Join Howard in his quest to impact the world positively!
• 
  Tori

  While I disagree with some of Buffett's opinions, this was a good overview of many of the global issues with agriculture and the various organizations trying to solve them. He is obviously not a writer, and I struggled to connect with some of his stories. It bothered me that he didn't once mention the issue of food waste, and how making better use of the food we do have could alleviate many hunger issues. I did like that he talked extensively on the importance of soil and conservation farming, and the need to reform US farming subsidies. I'm interested in the food insecurity map he created and will look into it further:
  http://www.40chances.com/mmg/.
• 
  Correen

  
  Buffett talks in a casual voice of his experiences, programs, successes, failures, analyses, and conclusions about agricultural philanthropy, food insecurity, farming methods, and more. He seems forthright, organized, and informed in his presentation. His book is easy to read and the information is engrossing. It is a good introduction for those of us who are not involved but write occasional checks to charities and a resource for those who are more involved.
• 
  Beth

  “Forty Chances” is a sobering reminder or the real problems in the world. Gaps are carved throughout history allowing the emergence of tyrant and sadistic people. In the wake of their ravage are masses of good people that were just trying to survive. Mr. Buffet comes from a family of enormous wealth and finds a way to shine a light on the global issues of hunger. He weaves through stories to show that hunger is not a simple problem cured with more food contributions. It is a complicated situation that involves farming, environment, war, education, government, and cultural differences to name but a few aspects. The people most affected do not have the time or energy to worry about what caused their situation; all effort and resources are placed on survival. Can you imaging your daily existence devoted to just making it to tomorrow? As a person that spent years working in agricultural research, I appreciate that Mr. Buffet is looks at global problems from the perspective of a farmer, examining issues from as far away as Timbuktu and as close as his local soup kitchen. He is able to convey his experience and desire to help people that suffer from hunger and in doing so build a better world for all. Many of the lessons harken back to what his father strives for in finance: building strong businesses that support communities and create stability.
• 
  Aaron Thibeault

  *A full executive summary of this book is available here:
  http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/11/19...
  
  The main argument: In the developed world, the vast majority of us enjoy a standard of living unmatched in the history of humankind—and going hungry is the last thing on our minds. Nevertheless, it cannot be said that poverty and hunger have been eradicated in the developed world entirely (in the United States, for example, 1 in 6 are considered food insecure—including 16 million children). Still, the greatest problems with poverty and hunger continue to exist in the developing world. Indeed, despite substantial improvements over the past 30 years, poverty remains a significant issue, and nearly a billion of the world’s 7 billion people still face chronic hunger (while about twice that number are malnourished in some way)—and millions starve to death every year.
  
  It is not that many well intentioned people and organizations have not spent a great deal of time and money trying to solve the world’s poverty and hunger issues. Indeed, over the past half century the amount of resources that have been poured into these problems is staggering. So, just why do the problems of poverty and hunger stubbornly persist?
  
  Well, at least part of it has to do with the fact that there are several significant obstacles standing in the way—everything from armed conflict, to corrupt governments, to particular cultural practices etc. The humanitarian Howard G. Buffet has been involved in fighting poverty and hunger for upwards of 30 years, and knows these obstacles all too well. However, Buffet insists that there is yet another reason why all of the well-intentioned efforts have fallen short of reaching their ultimate goal. And that is that many of the approaches have proven to be inadequate (if not downright counter-productive).
  
  The fact is that most of the aid flowing to the poorest parts of the world has been (and continues to be) in the form of projects that are meant to help people in the short-term. For example, NGOs commonly enter an area, drop off bags of seed and fertilizer, and then turn around and leave. This approach may help the area for a season or two, but in the end the seed and fertilizer do run out, and the community is right back to square one. Thus the approach acts more as a band-aid, than a self-sustaining solution that addresses the root causes of poverty and hunger.
  
  Thankfully, in Buffet’s 30 years of work as a philanthropist he has learned that there is indeed a better approach, and one that stands a much better chance of rooting out poverty and hunger for good. The more effective approach is much less about aid as development—less about helping people as enabling people to help themselves.
  
  The development approach involves linking subsistence farmers up with the larger economy, and establishing a self-sustaining ecosystem that will allow this connection to be maintained into the future. It involves things like helping to establish agricultural schools and private seed companies; working with farmers to improve farming techniques and yields (and not in a way that assumes that what has worked well in one place—or one’s own backyard—will work everywhere); establishing grain storage systems; physically connecting farmers to markets; and working with governments to establish and maintain the infrastructure (especially roads) needed to make the system work smoothly.
  
  The development approach may be more involved and take longer to get off the ground, but it pays off in the end, as when it is done well, it only has to be done once (Buffet speaks often about NGOs needing to take an approach that ultimately puts themselves out of business).
  
  And helping impoverished farmers join the larger economy is not just a matter of helping them help themselves. The fact is that the world’s population is continuing to grow, while we are running out of good farmland to farm. The UN estimates that in order to feed the world’s projected 9 billion people by 2050, farmers everywhere will need to increase the planet’s food production by 70%. Part of the solution to this problem must involve helping the world’s subsistence farmers to produce a surplus to help everyone.
  
  But the solution doesn’t end there. Farmers everywhere, including in the developed world, will need to increase their yields to meet the growing demand. However—and this is important—farmers will need to increase their yields in a sustainable way. That is, they will need to do so in a way that does not degrade the soil, or threaten the world’s fresh water or woodlands—as too often happens now.
  
  Thankfully, Buffet’s experience as a farmer (which he has been practicing even longer than philanthropy) has shown him that here too there is a solution. And a big part of this solution is a very straightforward approach known as no-till farming. No-till farming is an approach that eschews tilling the soil in favor of planting nitrogen-fixing cover crops. The approach not only increases water retention, saves soil, and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, it also helps increase yields (and thus it’s a win-win solution). Now it’s just a matter of convincing other farmers of this—which is a big part of Buffet’s project.
  
  This is a fantastic book. Don't let the fact that Buffet is the son of one of the wealthiest men on the planet dissuade you from taking him seriously. The author may have had a head start in life, but he stands on his own two legs, and he has used his privileged position to help him gain perspective (rather than let it make him arrogant and entitled). Anyone interested in the hunger problem (and the best way to approach it) would be well advised to read this book. A full executive summary of the book is available here:
  http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/11/19... A podcast discussion of the book will be available soon.
• 
  Bob Schnell

  Books on philanthropy aren't usually high on my reading list but a pre-pub copy of Forty Chances landed on my desk at the right time. HGB's sincere efforts to help solve world hunger are well-articulated and eye-opening, often for his honesty in outlining how some of his best efforts ran afoul of unintended consequences. It is a tricky business and I applaud his stamina and fortitude in not just throwing money at the problem and pretending its doing good. I was especially struck by his arguments for GMOs and how Monsanto is actually doing a lot of good around the world. I still think some of Monsanto's business practices stink and I would not buy GMO products for myself, but I have a better perspective on the situation. The best thing I learned from this book is how to make better decisions regarding which charities in the field to suppport.
• 
  Jeanne

  One of the things that I look for in a book is that it helps me see things differently. This book did. Each chapter looked at hunger in one (or more) parts of the world and considered it systemically. On the one hand, Buffett and his son present daunting pictures of what we need to do to eradicate hunger, while on the other hand their commitment, hard work, and "pessimistic optimism" leave me hopeful. I'm also hopeful when I see someone from as privileged a background as Buffett--he's Warren Buffett's son--who puts as much time, money, and effort into addressing world hunger. Well done!
• 
  Johnna

  I was very lucky to receive an advance copy! Fascinating and timely read. Global yet so close to home, too. Shared this book with my son (he's 17). He also appreciated the perspective.
• 
  Breakingviews

  By Jeffrey Goldfarb
  
  Warren Buffett has made billions of dollars investing and his farmer son is helping give them away. In the new book “Forty Chances,” Howard Graham Buffett chronicles his efforts with his own son Howard Warren to combat the mind-boggling inefficiencies and bad philanthropic habits that get in the way of ending world hunger. It’s hard at times to relate to the plight, but reassuring to know the Buffett family is on the case.
  
  The conceit of the book enlists a classic bit of the folksy Buffett appeal. At a weekend winter “Planter’s School” event, a speaker imparts the idea that while the task of producing food can feel like a perpetual cycle of seeding and harvesting, each farmer really only has about 40 growing seasons to maximize a crop. The lecture hit home for Buffett (the surname, unless otherwise specified, refers throughout to the Oracle of Omaha’s son, Howard G.), who realized the message extended beyond farming. He refocused his charitable foundation, created in 2006 with funds donated by his parents, on finding ways to feed hungry people.
  
  The organization has given itself 40 chances. It intends to disperse its $3 billion and, as Buffett puts it, go out of business by 2045. The book, meanwhile, is mostly a series of 40 vignettes about the struggles and triumphs of those in need of aid and others trying to provide it.
  
  Buffett finds himself in a unique position to effect change. Not only does he possess the necessary financial resources, but he has also had the benefit of working the earth and growing up under the tutelage of an accomplished capitalist. He subtly and perhaps even unintentionally alludes to the point when he explains: “I have rarely seen a farmer who is a great economist, an outstanding academic, or a successful politician, but the inverse is also true.”
  
  To his great credit, Buffett doesn’t just sit in an office in Decatur, Illinois, reading agricultural journals and signing checks. He spends a lot of time muddying his boots in impoverished and dangerous areas like South Sudan and Sierra Leone, engaging with children, farmers and warlords. Buffett, like his father, has a knack for telling a story simply. Some of them are heartbreaking, others inspiring. Many are immensely frustrating.
  
  One of the lasting impressions of “Forty Chances” is that agriculture is among the most inefficient markets in the world. Buffett is disarmingly blunt about the shortcomings. He criticizes everything from outdated and poorly designed government policies, including certain U.S. subsidies, to technical failings like the global habits of using too much fertilizer, excessive tilling and the lack of new seeds available to African farmers who grow primarily to feed themselves.
  
  There are the problems of “philanthropic colonialism” and the head-scratching practice by some non-governmental organizations of selling donated food – and thus distorting prices – to raise funds for other projects.
  
  Having grown up on the oddly contrarian idea of investing for the long term, Buffett and his son find that problematic short-term thinking isn’t confined to the for-profit world. NGOs are in the habit of giving away goods, ignoring or overlooking the unintended consequence that it creates a pattern of expectation among the recipients and prevents the development of local markets.
  
  Buffett cites the work of Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo, who in 2009 said the developed world sent some $1 trillion in aid to Africa over the course of a half century only to have the continent’s per capita income decline from where it had been in the 1970s.
  
  Buffett’s concerns about multinational NGOs are palpable. They can’t seem to break their bad cycles because donors want to see results before they commit more funds. Such groups also have problems of their own making. “Their size and bureaucracy stifle their ability to solve problems on a large scale where it seems they should be able to operate,” Buffett writes. “They focus on projects and activities, not enough on outcomes, and not enough on learning to work together instead of competing for the same dollars in the same way.”
  
  There are plenty of successes from which to learn, too, including in governments that have a monopoly on protecting land rights and enforcing contracts. For example, Buffett extols the work of Brazilian officials, whose agricultural policies and research since the 1970s have sharply reduced the country’s proportion of undernourished citizens and the prevalence of underweight children. He sees it as a possible model for Africa, which faces similar problems of tired soil and growing populations.
  
  Of course, he is also still a Buffett, and knows the importance of aligning interests. Finding ways to ensure that farmers own the land on which they work is an important aim.
  
  The younger Buffett, meanwhile, sees some hope in technology. In one of the chapters he contributes, Howard W. Buffett focuses on the “farmer of the future.” Clay Mitchell, an Iowa farmer who splits his time in San Francisco, pioneered the use of GPS-steered farm equipment in the Midwest and hand-tagged bar codes on corn plants to help measure stalk thickness and water penetration in an effort to improve productivity and to help the United States keep up with cutting-edge practices being advanced in other countries.
  
  Ultimately, “Forty Chances” educates and enlightens without coming off as a polemic. That also means, however, that it doesn’t necessarily function as the call to action Buffett intends. There is an accompanying website with ways for readers to help, but the huge financial sums and structural challenges involved also feel daunting. It’s at least comforting to know that three generations of Buffett aren’t intimidated.
• 
  Rachel G

  Is it possible to end world hunger? Maybe, but we are going to have to get serious about soil conservation and improving agricultural techniques.
  I really appreciated Howard Buffett’s accounts of different non-profits around the world, what aid strategies seem to be working, and what needs to change. There are so many needs - it is heartbreaking to think about the millions of people who do not have enough to eat or drink, or a place to live, or a job providing a source of income.
  My family is very involved in soil health and conservation, and I was glad to learn more about specific people and ideas that are helping change the world of farming.
• 
  Joni

  This book took a long time for me to read because the writing style was pretty matter of fact and each chapter sort of stood on its own merits. The author is Warren Buffett (Howard's son), and he expounds upon very pragmatic ways to address world hunger. Howard is a native of Decatur, Illinois, where he farms and currently serves as Sheriff. He also is quite a philanthropist. This book covers the many experiences he's had on his travels to distant lands where he has partnered with many different international agencies intent on ending hunger. Howard shares the successes and failures he encountered. This is a fascinating read, full of good advice and observations.
• 
  Wulan Suci Maria

  Amazing book about Howard Buffet’s long battle against food insecurity (especially in Africa), that reminds me to be more grateful in life and helps me define luxury differently. It tells me, having chance to make mistake in life and recalibrate after it is a luxury!
  
  We all know, more than 80% people in this world earn less than $1 per day, but we often don’t get it. We often forget the long process happened before the food reaches our table, and we didn’t even realize on the possibility that someone who work whole day on our food could go to bed at night without a meal, because of poverty!
  
  This book has sharpened my life purpose,a great one to read.
• 
  Theresa

  From experience and for many well intentioned reasons, Buffett has a great deal to say about farming practices in various parts of the world, including Iowa. My family has practiced no-till farming in Iowa since the 1970s. I've never heard anyone say they were worried about how it looked. Or that the women inheriting farms weren't paying attention to productive land management and farming practices.
• 
  Jessica

  I had to read this book for a class, and I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. (Another rich white guy trying to atone, or whatever?! Pass...) But Buffet is actually a pretty good writer, and mixes the lessons in with his incredible stories. Even though it was assigned, I'm glad I read it, and if you want something concrete but light, I'd recommend it.
• 
  Ashley

  I appreciate the lean towards food security and research in emerging countries. He also briefly touched on the importance of soil and the need to educate people on where food comes from and the importance of farmers. The lesson I will take with me is to make sure you thoroughly understand the problem before you go in and try to fix it. What worked in one region may not work in another.
• 
  Olivia

  This book fails to hold accountable the systems which are at fault for the current agricultural system and is fetishizes poverty through imperialist/colonialist language and perspectives of the wealthy white western world.