Thomson Reuters Foundation's Ellen J. Wulfhorst sits down with Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, to discuss the politics of solving hunger during a special series of conversations on food affordability hosted by Food Tank, Salon, and New York University's Steinhardt School.

If America wants to actually address hunger and its root causes, then it has to start in Washington and result in changing policies, according to Berg. Food banks and drives are cop outs and community gardens are not a catch-all solution.

It is a mistake when liberals imagine that "we can somehow solve this on the cheap by having everyone grow their own food, when people are never going to have land, and never going to have time, and never going to have weather 12 months out of the year to do it," Berg said.

"Every year someone has a new app that's going to provide enough food-no you don't," he added.

Watch the full conversation above to hear more about how charities won't fix hunger and what pressure we can put on Washington to address hunger with new policies and taking a closer look at farming subsidies. And watch the full Solving Hunger Food Tank and Salon event here.

Food Tank is America's fastest-growing nonprofit research and advocacy organization in food and agriculture. Salon is partnering with the organization to educate and convene the good food movement around pressing food system issues. Learn more about Food Tank here.