Economic refugees don't have it good either. Starving and dying from disease isn't easy.

If you are travelling because otherwise you will starve while dying from disease, you are a refugee. Economic migration generally assumes that you are not likely to die from returning. I do not think it is that wise to conflate the terms.

Being too poor to not have enough food, or experiencing a crop failure, does not meet official definitions of refugee eligibility:

https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/what-is-a-refugee/

It does meet common dictionary definitions though - https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/refugee

Your link’s definition limits it to issues of war, persecution or natural disasters.

A crop failure might be a natural disaster, but lots of other causes of starvation that are not.

Main point is, if you’re seeking refuge, try to put a clear-cut reason down rather than something debatable, but sensible, like absolute poverty.