This report describes the extent and causes of widespread hunger in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean using case studies of Bangladesh, Brazil, and Mozambique and profiles of 42 other countries. Current evidence points to more than half a billion people who chronically lack enough food for a normal life and an equal number who live in circumstances that place them in constant risk of hunger. The plight of between 18 million and 20 million hungry people in the United States is discussed in a separate chapter. The report offers a model for effective action to reduce U.S. poverty in a case study of midwest farmworkers. On the global scene, the report draws connections between hunger and militarization, the oppression of women, environmental destruction, industrial country trade and debt policies, and misguided foreign aid. The report sees signs of hope in examples of poor people's initiatives, global trends toward democratization and recent evidence of increasing willingness on the part of governments to consider national and international measures to reduce poverty. A glossary, bibliography and tables of data from foreign countries and the United States also are included. (Author/DB)