“The Hunger Business in America: Expert Andy Fisher Denounces the System Where Financial Capitalism and Food Banks Intersect to Prevent Poverty Reduction”

Expert in the social issues of nutrition, Andy Fisher denounces a system where the interests of financial capitalism and food banks come together to the point of preventing the reduction of poverty.

Activist, teacher and expert in the social issues of nutrition, Andy Fisher has led several organizations fighting against precariousness on the plate since the 90s and in 2017 signed the remarkable essay Big Hunger (not translated). He denounces “a hunger business” in the United States, where the interests of finance capitalism and “industry” highly developed food banks come together to feed the hungry with slingshots rather than working to lift them out of poverty.

As the world’s largest economy, the United States only ranks 13th in terms of food security. How do you explain this paradox?

This is due to the nature of capitalism and the system in this country, to a dominant mentality which advocates individual resourcefulness, combined with particularly miserly social assistance and very low wages in a large part of the country. Since the 1980s, there has been divestment from the welfare state and the minimum wage has stagnated: it is still $7.25 [environ 6,60 euros, ndlr] in half of the states [qui s’en tiennent au minimum fédéral]. That it is very difficult to unionize of course does not help. Incomes have not kept pace with rising productivity, particularly in the private sector.

In your book,