tracking who falls below a specific minimum standard of living.

It's a terrible measure as it more often than not just shows a "lack of overall resources" which is impossible to disentangle from a myriad of other external factors. Gini coefficient shows resource distribution efficiency and is much better at disentangling "poverty due to external factors" from "poverty due to internal(socioeconomic) factors".

starvation is a direct death due to caloric insufficiency, where you will see emaciated bodies with bloated stomachs. now, is there starvation in america?

Did you read any of your sources?! From your NLM source:

Malnutrition is defined as a decrease in muscle and cell mass caused by an insufficient amount of nutrient intake or absorption, which leads to impaired mental and physical function, reduced quality of life, and poor health outcomes.

It's defining the exact "emaciated body" you're claiming doesn't exist!

A FUCKING REDDIT LINK! THAT'S YOUR PRIMARY EVIDENCE! WTF!

USDA link: 16% of people rely on breadlines for their calories. Yes. Then you find the 0.06% people dying from malnourishment surprising!? What are you trying to say with this?

/r/AskALiberal reddit link... 🤡🤡🤡

It's all around you! It is significantly more rare than suicides or vehicular deaths which are also all around you and I bet you remain oblivious to all of those.

death by starvation is NOT the same as death by malnutrition from groups with other underlying illnesses like severe dementia or the extremely elderly.

Correct, those underlying illnesses are included within the broader ~56k number I cited earlier. Granted elderly without underlying illness would likely be classified in the ~21k though, don't see how that changes anything though.

In communism

I should be more mad at the number of links you provided to Facebook fearmongering but frankly it's about what I expected.

You did not define what you mean by "communism" nor did you provide any sources with actual information on what communism is. Other than "it's all the bad stuff from the Soviet Union and/or China"

If you're going to blame "communism" you need to understand what it is so you can point to what causes the failure mode. I'm not denying the failures in China and the USSR, I am saying you have not done a 1:1 comparison and I'm encouraging you to do so.

Let's try this: go here and then tell me why the 440M number is bullshit or provide the numbers and sources for your accurate 1:1 comparison.

have you seen an emaciated body with a bloated stomach in america? if so, please show me it.

Read the fucking NLM paper YOU linked! Otherwise fuck you and your poverty porn, but here you go.

Also the "bloated stomach" you seem fixated on is a very specific symptom. It's could be severe gastroparesis or ascites but based on the links you've provided I'm willing to bet you are envisioning kwashiorkor which is a very specific kind of malnutrition that the racists of Facebook love to use for poverty porn. Feel free to "show me otherwise".