Remember the last time you saw a meal on a menu for $30-$40. Then think of your lean times, if you had them. Those times you could have worked out a week’s groceries for yourself for the same amount of money- all generic brands- milk, eggs, cereal, hot dogs or hamburgers, buns, ketchup, a loaf of bread, butter, powdered soft drink mix, and a bag of apples.
And that example is just of the First World. We might remember the portion of the BBC documentary, The Human Planet, that showed a group of people in Africa who live off of a landfill, racing to be get the most useful things whenever new garbage is delivered.
The majority of the world needs a lot of help. Shifting to more efficient use of water, renewable energy, and to vegetable agriculture instead of raising livestock are smart measures to take.
But measures like these and handouts will not be enough. The world also needs to limit population growth- through greater acceptance of contraception, abortion, and euthanasia, and also through incentives to voluntary sterilization and through discouragement of or penalties against childbirth. Yet, these measures should be designed so that they are neither inhumane nor hamper the ability of parents to properly raise children who are born to them.
Renewable energy and more efficient use of land and resources are where to start and where to place the most attention and effort. Measures to limit population will have to be taken, too, including ending our traditional inhibitions against abortion, contraception, and euthanasia.