What roles do aid and development (I’m thinking abut the dichotomy – false or not depending on your views! – between humanitarian assistance and development) play in relieving famine?

This session looks at famine: we go from the microcosm of malnutrition to the macrocosm of economies of food and aid. Have a look the readings with a view to asking:

Are we likely to ever see an end to famine?
What roles do aid and development (I’m thinking abut the dichotomy – false or not depending on your views! – between humanitarian assistance and development) play in relieving famine?
What are the causes of famine and, of course, the corresponding, Foucaultian question, what are the benefits & functions of famine?
Celebrity engagement with hunger – Bob Geldof and Band Aid to 50 Cent. What do we think? If you’re interested in addressing this please do try to go beyond the obvious. I hope this won’t seem patronizing but there is little of real interest in the vast volumes of commentary on this subject so we should try to add something worthwhile