Hunger on Trial: The Irish Potato Famine Tragedy or Crime?

Irish Potato Famine Reliance on the potato as a source of nutrition Can grow in “poor” soil and easily stored High in calories and nutrition 1845: The Blight: a fungus infects the potato crop 2 million starved 2 million emigrated

Hunger and Famine Famine is not really a natural phenomenon; it is a political and economic phenomenon. Food in the 19th century was a commodity- meaning it is distributed to those who pay for it. Today, “enough food is available to provide at least 4.3 pounds of food per person a day worldwide”, but about 852 million people in the world are hungry, and 16,000 children die of hunger-related illnesses every day in the world.

The Irish Most oppressed people in Western Europe. Colonial exploitation also affected “white” Europeans* However, the British viewed the Irish as a completely separate and distinct race. The word “white” was not used to describe Europeans until the later 1800’s, due to imperialism. Europeans viewed non-Europeans as “others” and saw themselves as superior. Read Noel Ignatiev’s “How the Irish Became White”

The Irish Lived under British rule. Mostly Catholic and poor (7 out of 8 people in Ireland were poor). Most land was owned by British Protestant landlords who did not even live in Ireland.

Hunger Guilt British landlords Irish tenant farmers The Anglican Church The British government Political Economy of Colonial Capitalism Not a specific group of people, but rather a system of ownership, production, and distribution.

Your Task: Read your indictment, the charges against you, and your possible defenses. Create a defense for your group’s indictment. You can plead guilty, but have to accuse at least one other group. You can plead not guilty- but you have to accuse at least one other group. You must list evidence for your accusations and your defense. Jury Members: Read all roles for defendant groups, and prepare 3 questions for each of the defendant groups.

Reflection: Neither the potato nor nature are guilty. Who holds a society’s wealth and power? What determines how resources are used? What human-created institutions are and behaviors are at the root of all suffering? Do we all share a “national interest”, or are we more stratified by things like race, class, gender, and/or immigration status? Remember that just like in Ireland 160 years ago, hunger is still rampant today- and it is not due to scarcity!