This book offers us an overview of a problem which has been man-made and well documented, and has persisted throughout the history of humanity: hunger. At the end of this journey from antiquity up to the present day, the author concludes that whatever the mode of production and the way of life, the bitter pangs of hunger have been experienced everywhere. Nevertheless, during the 19th and 20th centuries, a dramatic change occurred. Hunger was gradually disappearing in the First World (Europe, North America, Japan), while it persisted throughout the rest of the planet. Instead of declining, nowadays this terrible inequality seems to be getting worse. This book provides a theoretical and conceptual framework which will enable understanding of the dynamics of societies, and allow for the in depth study of living standards and conditions in human groups.