The purpose of this thesis is to contrast the academic discussion on whether the affluent countries have a responsibility or not to provide food aid for the LDCs, to the views of food aid recipients. In addition to the issue of responsibility I also discuss the responsibilities of individuals contra governments, and what type of aid (if any) that is best to ensure food security. In order to gather information on the recipients’ points of views I have conducted a minor field study in The Gambia and interviewed former food aid recipients. In the academic discussion Thomas Pogge, Peter Singer, Dale Jamieson and David Miller are represented. The results of the field study shows that most of the recipients argue that the affluent countries in the world have a moral responsibility to assist the LDCs since they have the ability to assist.In contrast to the academic discussion, it becomes clear that the interviewees base their arguments on a different moral foundation than some of the theorists, and that they have different perspective on how to eradicate poverty and ensure food security.

This dissertation examines U.S. food diplomacy in occupied Germany. It argues that the origins of food aid as an anti-communist strategy are located in postwar Germany. Believing a punitive occupation was the best insurance against future conflict, Allied leadership agreed to enforce a lower standard of living on Germany and did not allow relief agencies to administer aid to German civilians. Facing a growing crisis in the U.S. Zone, President Truman authorized food imports and permitted voluntary agencies to operate in 1946. This decision changed the tenor of the occupation and provided the foundation to an improved U.S.-German relationship. It also underscored the value of American food power in the emerging contest with the Soviet Union. Food served as a source of soft power. It bridged cultures and fostered new relationships while reinforcing notions of American exceptionalism. Officials recognized that humanitarian aid complemented foreign policy objectives. American economic security was reflected in their abundance of food, and the dispersal of this food to war-torn Europe, especially a former enemy, made a strong statement about the future. As relations with the Soviet Union soured, policymakers increasingly relied on American food power to encourage German embrace of western values. Occupation officials portrayed food relief as an expression of democratic ideals, emphasizing the universality of Freedom from Want and focusing on well-nourished German children as the hope for future peace. American food fostered the spread of liberal democracy but its dispersal also contained communism. This work bridges diplomatic history and food studies to investigate the consequences and significance of the transnational food exchange. Food aid had layered political, cultural, and emotional implications. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this dissertation examines the role of compassion in diplomacy and the symbolism inherent in food to demonstrate the lasting political currency of humanitarian aid. Paying close attention to the food relationships that emerge between Germans and Americans allows one to better gauge the value of U.S. food aid as a propaganda tool. Food embodies American power; it offers a medium for understanding the experience and internalization of the occupation by Americans and Germans alike. Food aid began as emergency relief in 1946, reflecting the transition from a punitive to rehabilitative occupation policy. Recognizing Germany’s need for stability and self-sufficiency Military Government officials then urged economic recovery. Food aid was an important piece for German economic recovery, with supporters emphasizing Germany’s potential contribution toward European recovery. The positive press generated by the Marshall Plan and Allied airlift of Berlin contributed to the growing significance of propaganda in the emerging Cold War. Food relief was both good policy and good public relations, providing a narrative that cast the United States as a benevolent power in a rapidly changing world. Food aid to Germany underscored America’s humanitarian obligations, conscripted emotion into the Cold War, and swayed public opinion on the home front and with the former enemy. / History

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In 1993, international food aid reached a record high level, but by 1997 food aid had fallen to its lowest level in more than two decades. Though the post-1993 decline of food aid has been the dominant trend in food aid, there has also been a significant growth in food aid during the period in question. This thesis aims to understand the paradoxical, but parallel, growth and decline of food aid since 1993 from a neo- Gramscian perspective. The neo-Gramscian approach to international relations is a historically sensitive, non-deterministic Marxist perspective, normatively committed to transformation towards a more just world order. This perspective assists us in understanding the relative freedom enjoyed by the hegemon from the structural and institutional constraints faced by other states. The neo-Gramscian approach is unique in indicating the role of middle powers and international organisations in perpetuating and legitimising the hegemonic order, whereby middle powers strongly support international organisations. The decline of food aid occurred because agricultural surplus availability has remained the most important factor determining food aid levels, with food aid consequently declining as cereal prices increased after 1993. Furthermore, the food aid regime has proved too weak to enforce a severing of the link between food aid and agricultural surplus for most states, particularly the largest food aid donor and hegemon, the United States. The growth of food aid has been the result of the support given to relevant international organisations and agreements by middle powers, despite middle powers initially having been manipulated into participating in the food aid regime by the hegemonic United States. The possible implications of the trends identified in this study for the future of food aid to Sub- Saharan Africa, also enjoy consideration. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In 1993 het internasional voedselhulp 'n rekord hoogtepunt bereik, maar teen 1997 het voedselhulp geval tot die laagste vlak in meer as twee dekades. Alhoewel die post- 1993 afname van voedselhulp die uitstaande tendens in voedselhulp was tydens die betrokke periode, het voedselhulp ook gegroei gedurende hierdie tydperk. Hierdie tesis beoog om die teenstrydige, maar parallelle, groei en afname van voedselhulp sedert 1993 te verstaan vanuit 'n neo-Gramsciaanse perspektief. Die neo- Gramsciaanse benadering tot internasionale betrekkinge is 'n histories sensitiewe, niedeterministiese Marxistiese perspektief, normatief verbind tot transformasie na 'n meer regverdige wêreldorde. Hierdie perspektief help ons om die hegemoon se relatiewe vryheid van die strukturele en institusionele beperkinge en struikelblokke wat deur ander state in die gesig gestaar word, te verstaan. Die neo-Gramsciaanse benadering is uniek in die klem wat dit plaas op die rol van middelslag-moondhede en internasionale organisasies in die stabilisering en legitimering van die hegemoniese orde. Die afname in voedselhulp het plaasgevind omdat die beskikbaarheid van landbousurplus nog steeds die belangrikste bepalende faktor van voedselhulpvlakke is, met 'n gevolglike afname in voedselhulp toe graanpryse gestyg het na 1993. Wat meer is, die voedselhulpregime was te swak om 'n verbreking van die verband tussen voedselhulp en landbousurplus af te dwing met betrekking tot die meeste donateurstate, maar veral ten opsigte van die hegemoon en grootste donateur van voedselhulp, die Verenigde State. Die groei van voedselhulp is te danke aan die ondersteuning van die betrokke internasionale organisasies en ooreenkomste deur middelslag-moondhede, alhoewel die hegemoniese Verenigde State middelslagmoondhede aanvanklik moes manipuleer tot deelname aan die voedselhulpregime. Die moontlike implikasies van die tendense geïdentifiseer in hierdie studie vir die toekoms van voedselhulp na Sub-Sahara Afrika, geniet ook oorweging.

This thesis concerns the history of humanitarian nutrition and its political implications. Drawing on aid agency archives and other historical sources, it examines how food has been delivered in emergencies, from the First World War to the present day. The approach is ethnographic: this is a study of the micro-level practices of relief, examining the objects distributed, the plans made, the techniques used. It is also historical: examining how such practices have changed over time. This thesis makes five interlocking arguments. First, I make a political point: that humanitarian action is always political, and that it is impossible to adhere to ‘classical’ humanitarian principles such as neutrality, impartiality and independence. Second, I make a sociological argument: that the activities of humanitarian nutrition have been shaped by a number of themes, which include militarism, medicine, modernity, and markets. Third, I make a historical argument: that the main features of humanitarian nutrition were solidified between the 1930s and the 1970s, and were largely in place by the time of the Biafran war. Fourth, I make a sociological argument: that these mid-century changes involved a profound redefinition of hunger and food (with hunger conceived as a biochemical deficiency, and food as a collection of nutrients). Finally, I make a normative argument, suggesting that this redefinition has not necessarily benefited the starving: the provision of food in emergencies, I argue, is often concerned with control and efficiency rather than the suffering individuals themselves.

Anotation The diploma thesis entitled "The Phenomenon of food aid" deals with the topic of food aid, including its origins, its significance and functioning, as well as affiliates of the food bank. The diploma thesis also includes The Operational Programme of Material and Food Aid, provided for years 2014 to 2020 included. Another aspect of the thesis is an actual view over the problem of food wastage. They are measured a factors which affect the food security, and it also compares a several different institutions, dealing with the food aid. As a part of the research, there is a practical survey included. The practical part tries to primarily answer questions of food wastage. Than it searches kinds of the food groceries which are wasted most often, as well as their amount. The practical part also ascertains the willingness of the operators to provide the discarded food to a people in need. It also monitors the actual knowledge about the National Food Bank itself. A case study in the form of a short interview with a homeless person in included. The interview is thematically based on the possibility and the availability of food aid itself.

La Croix-Rouge française est une association (loi 1901) et une entreprise à but non lucratif, reconnue d’utilité publique, et auxiliaire des pouvoirs publics. Engagée dans une « lutte contre toutes les souffrances humaines », depuis plus de 150 ans, la Croix-Rouge française œuvre dans quatre domaines d’intervention nationaux : le secours, la santé, la formation et les actions sociales, ainsi que dans un domaine international. La Croix-Rouge française fait aussi partie d’un réseau, le Mouvement international Croix-Rouge et Croissant-Rouge, composé du CICR, de la Fédération internationale et de Sociétés nationales, la Croix-Rouge française étant l’une d’elles. Les actions sociales Croix-Rouge française dispensées par les organes de proximité, les délégations locales, doivent parvenir à relever le défi humanitaire dans une conception d’aide d’urgence. Basé sur l’engagement bénévole, tout le système d’aide humanitaire repose sur le don. Ce qui fait vivre chaque délégation c’est à la fois les dons matériels reçus, notamment des particuliers et de l’Etat, les dons immatériels perçus, de temps, de compétences, des bénévoles et des volontaires, et enfin des dons transmis de l’association aux bénéficiaires tels que nourriture, vêtements, adresse postale... Le travail ethnologique présenté ici sous forme d’une monographie s’attache à étudier le système d’aide philanthropique développé par la délégation locale d’Orange (Vaucluse) dans sa dimension matérielle et symbolique. Pour cela l’étude va se centrer sur deux thèmes en particulier : l’aide alimentaire et les bénévoles, et proposer ainsi une analyse ethnologique du don alimentaire et de la dynamique relationnelle du bénévolat. / The French Red Cross is an association (law 1901) and a non-profit organization, recognized as a public benefit and a wellness and auxiliary to the government. Engaged in a "fight against all human suffering," for over 150 years, the French Red Cross works in four areas of national intervention: relief, health, education and social action, and in an international field. The French Red Cross is also part of a network, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, consisting of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent and in National Societies including the French Red Cross. Social actions of the French Red Cross provided by local bodies, local delegations, must complete the challenge to design a humanitarian emergency assistance. Based on the volunteer, all the humanitarian aid system is based on gifts. What keeps alive every delegation is both material donations received, from individuals and the state, intangible donations received such as time, expertise, volunteers, and finally donations passed from the association to beneficiaries such as food, clothing, mailing address ... The ethnological study presented here as a monograph seeks to examine the system of philanthropy developed by the local delegation of Orange (Vaucluse) in its material and symbolic dimension. Thus, the study will focus on two particular themes : food aid and volunteers, and offer an ethnological analysis, of the gift of food and the relational dynamics of volunteerism.

Master of Science / Department of Grain Science and Industry / Sajid Alavi / The objective of the study was to investigate extrusion as an alternative processing method and grain sorghum as a viable substitute for corn in fortified blended foods (FBFs) used in nutrition and food assistance programs around the world. In the first part of this study, sorghum-soy blend (SSB), corn-soy blend (CSB) and whole corn-soy blend (WCSB) were developed using extrusion and compared with traditional CSB13 for physico-chemical and sensory properties. After milling of extrudates, average particle size (PS) ranged between 341-447 microns, with 78-85% below 600 microns. In general, Bostwick flow rates (VB=12-23 cm/min) of rehydrated blends (11.75% solids) were within standard specifications but higher than CSB13. Descriptive sensory analysis indicated that the sorghum-based rehydrated blends were significantly less lumpy and had a more uniform texture as compared to corn-based blends and CSB13. In the second part, the impact of decortication level and process conditions was investigated with respect to sorghum-based extruded blends. Degree of gelatinization of the whole sorghum-soy blend (WSSB) and decorticated sorghum-soy blend (DSSB) extrudates ranged from 93-97%. Expansion ratio (ER=3.6-6.1) was correlated with specific mechanical energy input (SME=145-415 kJ/kg; r=0.99) and average particle size after milling (PS=336-474 microns; r= -0.75). Rehydrated blends at 20% solids concentration provided recommended energy density (0.8 kcal/g) for FBFs. Bostwick flow rates had high correlation (r = -0.91) with pasting data (final viscosity) obtained using rapid visco analyzer (RVA). Addition of oil (5.5%) prior to extrusion was also studied, and resulted in process instabilities and also lower shelf-life as determined via descriptive sensory analysis (rancid and painty attributes) and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (hexanal, heptenal and octanal concentrations). In conclusion, extruded sorghum-soy blends met standard specifications for energy density and consistency (Bostwick flow rate), and were superior in some aspects as compared to extruded corn-soy blends and traditional corn-soy blends (CSB13). Relationships between extrusion mechanical energy input, expansion, particle size after milling and consistency of rehydrated blends were established. Consistency of the rehydrated blends is an extremely important criterion as it affects the ease of ingestion by target consumers (children below 5 years, in this case).

Les Systèmes d’alerte précoce (SAP) sont des dispositifs d’évaluation de la sécurité alimentaire permettant de guider les décideurs humanitaires et gouvernementaux dans le ciblage de l’aide alimentaire d’urgence, grâce à des analyses quantifiées et cartographiées. Analysé au travers du prisme sociologique, le SAP est lu comme un système expert flou permettant de stabiliser des consensus institutionnels dans des environnements incertains, grâce à son investissement de forme chiffré et cartographié. La thèse est articulée autour de l’hypothèse centrale que le SAP éthiopien participe aux stratégies d’extraversion de l’aide internationale par l’État-Parti, renforçant ses capacités de contrôle et d’encadrement des populations et de l’administration. Cette hypothèse est vérifiée au travers d’analyses de jeux d’acteurs – les experts en charge du ciblage de l’aide, agissant comme des courtiers de développement situés aux interfaces institutionnelles multiples – , au travers des normes professionnelles, pratiques et sociales mobilisées lors des exercices d’évaluation, et des jeux d’échelles passant du micro au macro. Une première partie démontre comment le registre technico-scientifique du SAP découle des représentations techniques et apolitiques des famines et de l’évolution du régime de l’aide alimentaire internationale. L’exploration ethnographique de la pratique des agents révèle que les normes officielles du SAP éthiopien relèvent d’une hybridation entre des normes humanitaires et des normes de la bureaucratie éthiopienne. Les généalogies des normes humanitaires et de la bureaucratie éthiopiennes conduites au travers d’analyses sociologiques, anthropologiques et historiques, mettent en exergue comment le registre technique permet d’agréger ces deux mondes institutionnels, en occultant toute dimension politique. Un retour ethnographique détaillant les jeux de normes montre comment leur articulation par les agents, le long des échelles de la hiérarchie, est présidée par l’empirisme et la négociation, aménageant les marges de manœuvre aux kadre du Parti, pour influer discrètement sur les résultats et le ciblage de l’aide. À l’échelle villageoise, nous verrons comment le ciblage de l’aide renforce l’encadrement et le contrôle des populations par les kadre. Enfin, nous reviendrons sur les enjeux méthodologiques des enquêtes de terrain conduites par un ancien humanitaire. / Early Warning Systems (EWS) are food security assessment devices that quantify the need of food aid for humanitarian and government decision-makers in the targeting of emergency food aid through quantified and mapped analyzes. Analyzed through the sociological prism, the EWS is a blurr « system of expertise » stabilizing institutional consensus in uncertain environments, thanks to its investment of quantified and mapped form. The thesis is based on the central hypothesis that the Ethiopian EWS participates in strategies of extraversion of the international aid by the State Party, reinforcing its capacities of control and supervision of the populations and the administration. This hypothesis is verified through analyzes of experts in charge of targeting aid, acting as development brokers located at multiple institutional interfaces - through their professional, practical and social norms, and following different steps from micro to macro scales of the device. We shall first recall how the technical-scientific register of EWS derives from the technical and apolitical representations of famines and the evolution of the international food aid regime. A first ethnographic exploration of the practice of agents reveals that these norms are a hybridization between humanitarian norms and bureaucratic norms. We will study these norms separately through sociological, anthropological and historical analyzes, highlighting how the technical register makes possible to aggregate these two universes, hidding political dimensions. An ethnographic study detailing the sets of norms will show how their articulation by the agents, along the hierarchical scales, is presided over by empiricism and negotiation, adjusting the margins of maneuver to the kadre of the Party, to discreetly influence the results and the target of aid. At the village level, we will see how the targeting of aid reinforces the supervision and control of the populations by the kadre. Finally, we will return to the methodological stakes of the field investigations conducted by a former humanitarian.

糧食援助一直以來是國際關係所面臨的重大議題，對於援助者與受援國之間的互動往往超出糧食援助真正的人道關懷目標，雖然糧食產量足以供給全球人口需求，但世界上仍有許多飢荒地區民獲取不到糧食或是長期營養攝取不足，糧食無法平均分配給每一個人至今仍是糧食援助所面臨的難題之一。此外，因國內政局動盪所導致的人為飢荒，更是讓糧食援助雪上加霜。 　　本研究試著從糧食援助的歷史脈絡出發，從早期為解決糧食產量過剩的問題，糧食援助成為剩餘糧食處理的手段，經過聯合國與許多非政府組織的努力下，至今糧食援助已是人道主義共識下的產物。在糧食援助主體方面，糧食援助也從早期雙邊國家的互惠關係，逐步演變成多邊參與，援助主體也不僅限於國家，許多國際組織與非政府組織對於糧食援助更是不遺餘力。糧食援助的客體也從飢荒地區的短期糧食供給，轉變為解決長期糧食營養不足的問題，甚至在持續危機之下，成為改善災區民眾生活的方式之一。 　　文獻上已有學者針對飢荒的成因不同作出分類，透過該些分類檢視飢荒嚴重地區的國家，歸納出飢荒嚴重地區的國家大多是由於人為因素所刻意形成的外示飢荒。在案例研究上，透過聯合國糧食計畫署在索馬利亞的援助計畫，觀察如何在持續危機之下進行糧食援助。索馬利亞先天的地理條件造成乾旱引發糧食產量不足，固然是導致飢荒的因素之一。然而長年下來政局的動盪不安，政府更迭頻繁，拒絕國際糧食援助等人為飢荒，才是造成該國民眾長期食物匱乏，營養不足的主因。因此如何在持續危機之下進行糧食援助，有效改善飢荒地區民眾的生活才是國際社會共同努力的目標。本研究也希冀藉由案例研究的方式對糧食援助能有更深一層的認識。

Cette thèse contribue à la littérature sur la consommation alimentaire, la malnutrition infantile et la réussite scolaire dans les pays en développement. Le premier chapitre a pour but d’estimer la relation causale entre la malnutrition et la réussite scolaire parmi un échantillon d’enfants malgaches inscrits dans le cycle primaire. Les chocs de pluie endurés lors de la petite enfance sont utilisés comme instruments exogènes pour expliquer le statut nutritionnel de long terme. Les résultats indiquent que les retards de croissance sont un obstacle important pour l’apprentissage scolaire. Le deuxième chapitre examine l’effet des cycles de distribution alimentaire sur la consommation alimentaire de ménages réfugiés. Les résultats suggèrent que la consommation moyenne de céréales diminue au fur et à mesure que l’on s’éloigne du jour de la distribution alimentaire. Cet effet est suffisamment important pour avoir un impact sur le statut nutritionnel de court terme des enfants de notre échantillon. Le troisième chapitre exploite des données de panel sur une cohorte de jeunes adultes malgaches afin d’estimer une fonction de production de capacités cognitives grâce à l’utilisation d’un modèle de valeur ajoutée. Les résultats soulignent le rôle essentiel de la scolarisation dans l’acquisition de capacités cognitives. / This thesis contributes to the literatures on food consumption, child malnutrition and school achievement in developing countries. The first chapter aims at estimating the causal relationship between malnutrition and school achievement among Malagasy children enrolled in primary school. Rainfall shocks during the first years of a child’s life are used as exogenous instruments to predict the long-term nutritional status. Results indicate that stunting is a significant obstacle to learning. The second chapter investigates the effect of food distribution cycle on refugee households’ consumption. Results suggest that the more distant thefood distribution, the less important is household’s consumption of cereals. The effect is sufficiently large to impact children short-term nutritional status. The third chapter takes advantage of a panel database of a cohort of Malagasy young adults to estimate a cognitive skills production function with a value-added approach. Results highlight the large role of schooling in the acquisition of cognitive skills.