Spensy Pimentel
Special Report

Porto Alegre – A seminal work on Brazilian reality, the book Geografia da Fome, (Geography of Hunger) was published 60 years ago in 1946. The author, Josué de Castro (1908-1973) dedicated his life to understanding and dealing with the country's social problems. His memory is being honored at the 2nd International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (2ª Conferência Internacional sobre Reforma Agrária e Desenvolvimento Rural) which is taking place this week in Porto Alegre.

Castro was born into a family that had fled the drought-ravaged backlands of Paraiba and settled in Recife, capital of Pernambuco. He graduated from medical school in Rio de Janeiro, but became a professor of geography and anthropology in Recife. In the 1940s, working under government contracts, he travelled around the world studying the problems of human nutrition and the reasons hunger persisted in so many regions even though there were adequate natural conditions for the production of food.

Through his published works, which were translated into 25 languages, he gained an international reputation, leading to his being nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In Brazil Castro played an important role creating programs that continue to exist, such as school lunch programs and the addition of iodine to salt.

While serving in Congress as a deputy he was a victim of the military takeover in 1964 and was exiled where he died in 1973.

The Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva administration's Zero Hunger program was inspired by proposals made by Castro.

Translation: Allen Bennett