That reluctance to confront starvation as an instrument of violence has left deep traces in international law, shaping how the crime is treated even today. Although international law clearly prohibits the deliberate starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, it remains difficult to prosecute. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) goes further, codifying it as a prosecutable war crime. Despite this clarity, why does starvation as a crime remain so difficult to try? For too long, starvation has been treated as an inevitable by-product of war.