Hunger means an uneasy or painful sensation caused by want of food; exhausted condition caused by want of food; and scarcity of food in a country.

Malnutrition is a general term that indicates a lack of some or all nutritional elements necessary for human health. Lack of enough protein (from meat and other sources); and food that provides energy (measured in calories), lack of micronutrient (vitamin and mineral).

The world produces enough food to feed everyone - world agriculture produces 17 percent more calories per person today than it did 30 years ago, despite a 70 percent population increase. This is enough to provide everyone in the world with at least 2,720 kilocalories (kcal) per person per day. The principal problem is that many people in the world do not have sufficient land to grow, or income to purchase, enough food.

(notes from World Hunger)

1. Neglect of agriculture relevant to very poor people by governments and international agencies;

2. the current worldwide economic crisis;

3. the significant increase of food prices in the last several years.

Poverty is the principal cause of hunger