Facts about the Global Food Crisis
What’s a food crisis?!
A food crisis happens when there’s a dramatic deterioration in food security. This means food becomes very difficult to get for a large number of people. A food crisis is usually a combination of price increases and reduced food supply.
When a large proportion of peoples’ income is needed to secure basic nutrition, increases in the price of staple foods may cause a crisis.
The Global Food Crisis is the first time in human history that a food crisis has been brought on by so many different causes, from around the world, that are simultaneously affecting people’s ability to get food.
- When we started talking about the Global Food Crisis, there were 900 million hungry people around the world struggling to eat one small meal a day. The United Nations now estimates that the number of people facing chronic hunger and poverty in 2009 will reach more than 1 BILLION! This is a world record, but it’s not one we ever wanted to set.
- Children and families in 33 countries are suffering from the effects of the Global Food Crisis.
- Malnourished children are more likely to die from ordinary illnesses like diarrhoea, malaria, tuberculosis and respiratory disease.
- 25,000 children die from hunger and preventable diseases every day.
Children are under threat of starvation and are most vulnerable when times get tough. The Global Food Crisis denies children their basic right to adequate food and nutrition.
The Global Food Crisis...How it happened?
Why are kids like Beatrice AND Kak Da going hungry? Food prices have skyrocketed because of...
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The world’s population is growing, more people are moving to the city and well-off people are demanding more resource-hungry food (like meat and dairy).
We want more and better food, but where’s it going to come from?? |
Biofuels are chewing up precious food supplies so people can fill up their cars with plant-based fuels instead of petrol. This makes the remaining food supplies more expensive. In the meantime, oil prices are rising, making food and fertiliser production more expensive.
How are poor families going to pay for food when it doubles in price?? |
Climate change has created more droughts and floods ... and food shortages. People are moving off farms in search of food and work, but many end up in urban slums where high unemployment and poor working conditions make them vulnerable to abuse.
How will people get food when climate change continues to destroy crops and people’s livelihoods?? |
Poor countries are struggling to grow enough food because of inefficient farming techniques and a lack of funding for farming research projects.
How will everyone get fed if we don’t grow enough on our land?? |
Business people are pushing up food prices by making bets on the future price of crops like corn and rice.
How will poor countries afford ever-increasing food costs?? |
Countries like China and India have been growing quickly in wealth. People in these countries (who are just like you and me) are now able to buy more food, especially resource-hungry meat, fish and dairy. This is great – millions are better off – but as more people haggle for food, the price goes up. This kind of growth is causing hunger for millions of people left behind in poverty!
Urbanisation is also an issue for people living in poverty. Living in the city is great – it’s easy to get to schools, doctors, entertainment venues and all the other things you need and enjoy. More than half the world’s people now live in cities or towns. The problem is, most people who live in cities don’t grow their own food. They must buy their food in shops or markets, and if prices rise they have no choice but to pay more to survive.
And the world’s population just keeps growing. This makes the issues around urbanisation even worse. Last year there were 75 million more mouths to feed around the world.
ACT: Do the 40 Hour Famine: 2009 and help to reduce poverty in developing countries. Providing adequate education to children is one way to help reduce poverty and the effects of the Global Food Crisis on children. Girl’s education is especially important. When girls have more choices in life, they usually choose to have fewer children, later in life. Using their better education to secure more income they will no longer have to rely on the larger-sized family to provide support as they grow old.
LEAD: Do a presentation on the Global Food Crisis at your school, church or workplace. Explain that when developing countries become more self-sufficient, their societies become healthier, more sustainable and they have less need for food imports.
CHANGE: Consume less and reduce your environmental footprint on the earth!
Oil is a finite, natural resource – so one day it will run out! Oil prices have risen sharply in the past couple of years. We use oil to transport food and make fertilisers which are used on farms. When oil is more expensive, food is more expensive too! And don’t be fooled by changeable petrol prices – oil prices will continue to rise in coming years.
One solution to the oil problem? Use renewable plant-based resources instead! We can also make energy from plants, like corn and canola, but unfortunately there’s a big problem with that. Farmers are now selling this food to energy producers – not for people to eat. This means there’s less food available AND the food prices are higher. One estimate found that filling the tank of the average car with biofuel uses as much corn (Africa's main food source) as one African person consumes in an entire year.2 The bottom line? The poor are starving so the rich can fill up their cars.
Down the track, there will probably be technology to make biofuels that do not reduce food supplies. But corn ethanol and soybean biodiesel are not the way to go in the future.
ACT: Do the 40 Hour Famine: 2009 and support sustainable agriculture projects that reduce poor communities’ dependence on importing oil and food from other countries.
LEAD: Train it! Or ride your bike. Or take the bus instead of driving or getting someone to drive you. Or just walk!
CHANGE: Become a locovore. Buy locally-made and -grown products to reduce your own dependence on oil and biofuel. Buying organic and in-season produce also reduces your impact on the environment. Local farmers markets are a great place to start.
2 Singh, S. 2009, ‘Global food crisis: magnitude, causes and policy measures’, International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 36 issue 1, p.23-36. Retrieved: March 2009 from www.emeraldinsight.com.
Dramatic changes to the earth’s climate have led to more frequent droughts, floods, failed crops ... and food shortages. Farmers in developing countries are under more pressure than ever to grow enough food to survive. As land becomes less productive, families are forced to move to the city for work. Very often, though, they end up in urban slums where they are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Many can only find little or underpaid work.
ACT: Do the 40 Hour Famine: 2009 and support projects that are creating sustainable, environmental change, as well as working to prevent child labour and trafficking.
LEAD: Climate change is not just a problem for developing countries – it’s a global problem. Chat to your friends, family, teachers and/or co-workers about what solutions you can achieve at your school and/or in your own home.
CHANGE: Eat more veggies and dig deep! By eating organic meat, and beans, nuts, seeds and other environmentally-friendly sources of protein, you can help slow down climate change. Starting a veggie garden is also a great solution. Create a sustainable food source in your own backyard!
Farmers in poor communities are often unable to produce enough on their land because of limited access to new technologies and equipment. A lack of agricultural research and development has meant that productivity has been slowing over the past 20 years. Both developed and developing countries need to spend much more on improving farming techniques to increase food production. Poor farmers often turn to exploitation or child labour when they can’t make ends meet.
ACT: Do the 40 Hour Famine: 2009 and help fund sustainable and efficient agriculture projects that also reduce poverty by developing livelihoods, and help to prevent child labour and exploitation.
LEAD: Talk to your friends and family about how we can help poor families and communities to grow more food. Organise your local World Vision representative to talk to your school/church/workplace about how we can help transform the world’s poorest families and communities ... and help them to grow more food. Check out stir.org.au to find out how you can get involved and make a difference.
CHANGE: Be a fair trader. If you can’t find Australian-made products, buy fair trade instead to make sure all producers get a fair go.
Food investors are adding to higher food prices. These guys make their dollars by investing in areas where they think food prices will go up. Buy at a low price, sell at a high price – easy. This is called “price speculation”. But as more and more people buy and sell food stocks, it creates even higher food prices and wild market swings. All of which has nothing to do with the world’s most basic demand – the need to eat!
Then there’s the other GFC – the Global Financial Crisis. As many western countries stop making profits, companies in richer countries are cutting back their spending in developing countries. Poor countries are also unable to sell as much to rich ones.
ACT: Do the 40 Hour Famine: 2009 and support sustainable agriculture projects in developing countries. When poor communities become more self sufficient they rely less on expensive food from other countries.
LEAD: Talk to your friends and family about whether it’s ethical to buy and sell shares in basic human necessities, like food.
CHANGE: Buy locally-grown products and reduce your need to import food. Aside from helping the local economy, “buying local” reduces our reliance on food from other countries.
