Introduces the basic approach used by the author to analyse the causes of starvation in general and famine in particular. The approach involves a study of entitlement systems, based on the author's thesis that starvation statements are about the relationship of persons to the commodity of food, rather than about the food supply per se. Starvation statements translate readily into statements about ownership of food, and ownership relations are one kind of entitlement relations.
Keywords: entitlement relations, entitlements, famine, food supply, ownership, poverty, starvation