2004/11/23 by Paul Howe, Stephen Devereux · 3 citations
Health Professions · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations #Agricultural risk and resilience
paper · doi:10.1111/j.0361-3666.2004.00263.x
openalex publication_date 2004/11/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Ambiguities in current usage of the term "famine" have had tragic implications for response and accountability in a number of recent food crises. This paper proposes a new approach to defining famine based on the use of intensity and magnitude scales, where "intensity" refers to the severity of the crisis at a given location and point in time, while "magnitude" describes the aggregate impact of a crisis. The scales perform three operations on "famine": first, moving from a binary conception of "famine/no famine" to a graduated, multi-level definition; second, disaggregating the dimensions of intensity and magnitude; and third, assigning harmonised "objective" criteria in place of subjective, case-by-case judgements. If adopted, the famine scales should contribute to more effective and proportionate responses, as well as greater accountability in future food crises.