Our Earth provides us with many vital elements such as air, water, heat and food. Since Earth is approximately 510,072,000 km2 in size[1], one would think that it would have more than enough resources to supply all the people living on it. Most of us don't lack heat, and we certainly don't lack air, but the sad fact is that many people around the world today don't have access to food or water drinkable. It's not that we are unable to produce enough food for the population, it's just that this food is unequally distributed. The richest 20% of the world's population consume almost half of the planet's meat and fish, but the poorest 20% consume only 5%[2]. This is due to several factors that affect people, such as accessibility, cost of food, availability, etc. Three main factors determine the distribution of food around the world. These are poverty, population and priorities. Poverty is the lack of basic human needs, such as clean water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter, due to the inability to meet them. Population refers to the growing number of people who need resources, such as food, to live. And priorities, or quality of life, refers to us living in a first world country and our standard of living compared to that of people living in the third world. Poverty affects many people today. Around 1.7 billion people live in absolute poverty[3]; Before the Industrial Revolution, poverty was largely the norm. Absolute poverty occurs when people do not have the basic food, clothing or shelter needed to survive. Poor people don't have these necessities because they don't have money to buy them. Of all the things people need, food would be... middle of paper... July 2010 http://www.wfp.org/countries/chadBy Sam Lazaro. “Droughts and violence are fueling Sudan’s hunger crisis. » March 5, 2010, July 25, 2010 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june10/sudan_03-05.html “Hunger.” World Food Program. July 25, 2010 http://www.wfp.org/hunger “Hunger Report 2008”. Food Banks of Canada. July 25, 2010 http://www.cafb-acba.ca/documents/HungerCount_en_fin.pdf “Information on hunger”. Freedom from hunger. July 25, 2010 http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/info/Hunger in the US » Food Research and Action Center. July 25, 2010 http://www.frac.org/html/hunger_in_the_us/hunger_index.html “Oxfam calls for a radical overhaul of the aid system to break the cycle of hunger in Ethiopia. Oxfam International. October 22, 2010, July 25, 2010 http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressrelease/2009-10-22/aid-system-break-cycle-hunger-ethiopia