Ending hunger and poverty are noble goals, but it seems that there has always been starvation and poverty. The reason is that a population will increase until the current resources are exhausted, and while some, probably a majority, will enjoy a comfortable life, there will never be enough for all to do so. If all of the hungry and poor were magically gifted food and money, and became contented, the population would procreate and reduce the available resources; creating hunger and poverty once more.
It is for this reason that hunger and poverty will always exist. Humans, like all animals, will strive beyond what is sustainable. Some will continue to thrive, and some be unable to survive as a result. It is ironic that biological history shows that a sustainable life is unsustainable. A minority of those who act unsustainably will thrive and out-perform the rest.
One way that hunger and poverty can be reduced is to reduce an extant population, thus, for a time, freeing up the resources that are available, leaving more for everyone. It is somewhat ironic that hunger and poverty can best be reduced by increasing death generally; and perhaps this explains some of the prosperity that affected the world after great plagues, and perhaps the wars of the 20th century.
