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Hunger represents a persistent problem in less developed countries (LDCs). Comparative sociological research debates the role of exports in influencing hunger, as export specialization can be a means to development as well as dependency. We consider the severity of hunger as an outcome of unequal exchange relationships, utilizing a measure of agricultural export flows. The results reveal that agricultural export flows to high-income countries elevate the severity of hunger in LDCs, net of other important modernization, food production, and military factors. Thus, the concept of unequal exchange is relevant in explaining cross-national patterns in hunger, and suggests that inequalities in food distribution are paramount in contributing to threatening levels of hunger in LDCs.

This study investigates the influence of family solidarity, community structure, information access, social capital, and socioeconomic status on the extent of nutrition and health knowledge (NHK) among primary household meal planners. In turn, we pose the question: does this knowledge influence dietary decision making? Data are taken from a survey determining socioeconomic impacts of vitamin A fortified peanut butter on Philippine households. Questions on the relationships of nutrition to health were selected to construct a knowledge index on which household respondents could be ranked. We then tested hypotheses regarding what types of individual, family-level, and community structural characteristics would predict performance on this index. The results indicate that the strongest predictors of NHK come from sociological theory related to family solidarity and community centrality, in addition to information accessibility and household income. Our findings also indicate that NHK influences dietary choices with regard to the purchase of a vitamin fortified staple food product, which is essential when addressing nutritional deficiency problems in developing countries.