Food Consumption

A common conceptualization of poverty is that it is a condition in which individuals or households have insufficient resources to meet their basic needs. In this view—the basic needs approach—the poor do not have enough income or other resources to acquire a minimum set of consumption goods necessary for sustained physical well-being. The basic needs approach attempts to define some adequate minimum threshold of necessary consumption goods; a poverty line is then established as the amount of income required to secure these essential goods. The traditional list of basic needs includes food and water, shelter, and clothing. Contemporary lists also often include sanitation, education, and health care.

Poverty may also be measured by assessing a specific type of consumption; thus, particular individuals and groups might be ...