Inspect 40 Chances: Finding Hope In A Hungry World Developed By Howard G. Buffett File Paper Edition
on philanthropy aren't usually high on my reading list but a prepub copy of Forty Chances landed on my desk at the right time.
HGB's sincere efforts to help solve world hunger are wellarticulated and eyeopening, 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, 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, With a foreword by Warren Buffett, Chances is an “inspiring manifestoboth an informative guidebook and a catalyst for igniting real changes” Booklist in the struggle against world hunger.
If someone granted youbillion to accomplish something great in the world, what would you do In, legendary investor Warren Buffett posed this challenge to his son Howard G.
Buffett. Howard set out to help the most vulnerable people on earthnearly a
billion individuals who lack basic food security, And Howard gave himself a deadline: forty years to put the resources to work on this challenge,
Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World captures Howards journey, Beginning with his love for farming, we join him around the world as he seeks out new approaches to ease the suffering of so many.
Each of the forty stories here provides a compelling look at the lessons Howard learned, ranging from his own backyard to some of the most difficult and dangerous places on Earth.
But this message goes beyond the pages of this book, its also a mindset: a way of thinking that speaks to every person wanting to make a difference.
Its about reasons to hope and actions we can take, Chances “recounts Howards personal and professional experiences in surprisingly candid and colorful fashionsuccessfully blending personal stories with a tough look at the struggle to fight domestic food scarcity and world hungerA satisfying read” Publishers Weekly that provides inspiration to transform each of our limited chances into opportunities to change the world.
“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, A full executive summary of this book is available here: sitelink com/
The main argument: In the developed world, the vast majority of us enjoy a standard of living unmatched in the history of humankindand 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,inare considered food insecureincludingmillion children.
Still, the greatest problems with poverty and hunger continue to exist in the developing world, Indeed, despite substantial improvements over the pastyears, poverty remains a significant issue, and nearly a billion of the worldsbillion people still face chronic hunger while about twice that number are malnourished in some wayand 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 worlds 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 wayeverything 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 ofyears, and knows these obstacles all too well, However, Buffet insists that there is yet another reason why all of the wellintentioned 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 counterproductive,
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 shortterm.
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 bandaid, than a selfsustaining solution that addresses the root causes of poverty and hunger,
Thankfully, in Buffetsyears 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 developmentless about helping people as enabling people to help themselves,
The development approach involves linking subsistence farmers up with the larger economy, and establishing a selfsustaining 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 placeor ones own backyardwill 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 worlds population is continuing to grow, while we are running out of good farmland to farm, The UN estimates that in order to feed the worlds projectedbillion people by, farmers everywhere will need to increase the planets food production by.
Part of the solution to this problem must involve helping the worlds subsistence farmers to produce a surplus to help everyone,
But the solution doesnt end there, Farmers everywhere, including in the developed world, will need to increase their yields to meet the growing demand, Howeverand this is importantfarmers 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 worlds fresh water or woodlandsas too often happens now.
Thankfully, Buffets 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 notill farming, Notill farming is an approach that eschews tilling the soil in favor of planting nitrogenfixing 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 its a winwin solution.
Now its just a matter of convincing other farmers of thiswhich is a big part of Buffets 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: sitelink com/ A podcast discussion of the book will be available soon, .