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Food inflation: Can we combat global hunger?
Made Popular Mar 7 2008
# Most of the global attention has been riveted on falling dollar and new records set by gold and oil, but little notice has been taken of the looming food disaster that could be the worst famine the world has faced in a century.
# The head of the UN World Food Programme has warned that the rise in basic food costs could continue until 2010.
# The US humanitarian relief agency will significantly scale back emergency food aid to some of the world’s poorest countries because of soaring global food prices.
# Global food reserves are at their lowest level in 30 years - with enough to cover the need for emergency deliveries for 53 days, compared with 169 days in 2007.
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Salil
Mar 7 2008
Kochi,
India
No, food inflation can't be controlled because of the existence of agricultural trade barriers across the world.
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Combating global hunger? next to Impossible it is simply because you can't control population growth and can exploit natural resources more than a limit. Technology can't give you food actually. So, third world countries - keep developing and keep dying of hunger...
Start producing and consuming genetically modified (GM) foods, it is the sole way to combat global hunger.
This is nothing, just go through the rate of rising food commodities across the world. People would start killing each other for food in 2025.
# Michael, stop talking about GM foods buddy, you have no idea how dangerous it is. The bio-engineered foods can potentially pose long-term danger than hunger to human health or to the environment as well. The implementation of better policies would definitely curb the problem of hunger in coming days.
Rising food commodities rates would result in social unrest in several countries in developing world, which are sensitive to inflationary pressures and are import-dependent. It will result in riots for foods what we have seen in Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Senegal.
Global hunger is tough to control. More than 25,000 people die every day in the world due to hunger and hunger-related illness. One child dies every five seconds and cause is hunger.
The process is very slow and ineffective. At the World Food Summit happened in 1996, 186 countries had set an goal to reduce the number of hungry people by 50% from 800 million to 400 million by 2015. But after eleven years of the summit the situation has become worse than ever. Its difficult to say it will be controlled in coming days.
The productivity of agricultural systems has been eroded in several countries due to inappropriate land management practices. It is the main reason of low productivity of food grains and growing problem of global hunger across the world. Governments should concentrate on farming system to combat hunger.
Aiming Short-term production is bad and political instability adds fuel to the fire. Poor countries are mainly facing such problems but they need to work on long-term, sustainable policies to reduce the global problem.
We can combat hunger, but it will have to be a collective effort, and a decisive commitment.
Right now, with the raising food prices, we are further away from the goal than ever. Where is the commitment gone to reduce the number of hungry in the world by 50%, by 2015? Forgotten in the fuel crisis, which sparked a food crisis?
Right now, with the raising food prices, we are further away from the goal than ever. Where is the commitment gone to reduce the number of hungry in the world by 50%, by 2015? Forgotten in the fuel crisis, which sparked a food crisis?
First let’s see what is causing food inflation. It is the slowness to adopt high-yielding GM food over unfounded concerns. But companies who are producing GM food are also playing foul because of business. They are producing seeds that can be planted only once and the seeds from the subsequent produce are rendered infertile. That makes the farmers dependent on the company to buy fresh seeds for the next yield.
Then as Peter says, there has been half-hearted commitments compounded with fuel crisis that has sparked the food crisis we are witnessing now.
We can effectively tackle food crisis if we commit wholeheartedly towards eradication of global hunger.
Then as Peter says, there has been half-hearted commitments compounded with fuel crisis that has sparked the food crisis we are witnessing now.
We can effectively tackle food crisis if we commit wholeheartedly towards eradication of global hunger.
Unless the western countries remove farm subsidies and continue putting off local farmers in the Third World countries from farming food prices will be governed by Western countries and companies that will be just below the local food production but high nonetheless. Stop this and then things will improve.
Food prices rising because farmers are moving towards cash crops than producing basic food grains. Those who farm food grains are shrinking globally thus creating shortage, high demand and thus higher prices.
global hunger is an artificially created crisis... it is created deliberately by the big powers who used and still using hunger as a weapon to control poor countries....
India managed to become a food exporting country from a food important country despite the population almost tripling since independence. This was possible because of the Green Revolution and better land management.
Global hunger is not a very big thing that cannot be tackled. How come countries with huge populations are sustaining themselves? The main theater of global hunger is Africa. The entire population of entire Africa continent is much less than that of India or China. Main reason is the numerous conflicts going around there. Ethiopia is just beginning to look up. See what is happening in Zimbabwe, Somalia, Congo, Uganda, Chad, Sudan, Angola etc. In politically unstable and conflict zones you cannot till lands.
What will happen when there are so many dictators around like Mugabe who screwed up their own countries? Removing such despots from Africa and there won't be hunger. But is that possible? The plain answer is "NO".
Shira............
I would rather die from a long term health hazard than die of starvation. My immediate concern is my survival and not my health 25 years down the line........ GM looks promising.
I would rather die from a long term health hazard than die of starvation. My immediate concern is my survival and not my health 25 years down the line........ GM looks promising.
Growing tobacco is more profitable than growing rice. Growing sugarcane is more profitable than growing wheat. The returns are many folds. Farmers growing food grains are increasingly finding it difficult to sustain themselves. Many have committed suicide in India. If farmers are given a decent minimum support price then things will turn around and food prices will fall.
@ Brent,
Population growth does not necessarily mean food crisis. Yash's comment validates that where he cited India as example. The African population has not grown that much over the years but hunger has increased. Have you ever thought why?
Population growth does not necessarily mean food crisis. Yash's comment validates that where he cited India as example. The African population has not grown that much over the years but hunger has increased. Have you ever thought why?
Big food producing and rich countries must come under a common umbrella and chalk out a program that will set goals and targets year by year to alleviate hunger from this planet. Sponsorships in tune of huge money, scientific expertise for high yield crops, and steely political resolve is the call of the moment. If we act now, we can do it.
I know what is hunger. I have seen it. I have experienced it. Stop wars. Give peace a chance. Humanity is crying. Stop bleeding it more.
Asian countries are the best when it comes to producing food crops. They do the basics right and so they are less miserable. Even in war-torn countries like Cambodia they produce rice.
Global hunger can be combated with the sharing of resources and technology among the countries who can supply food to other poor countries.
The issue here is not about the increasing of food prices, but the willingness of the rich agricultural nations to share their resources to those who do not have.
I hope with countries that have the technology would share their technical ”know-how” to agriculture-producing nations in providing more crops to sustain global food shortage.
The issue here is not about the increasing of food prices, but the willingness of the rich agricultural nations to share their resources to those who do not have.
I hope with countries that have the technology would share their technical ”know-how” to agriculture-producing nations in providing more crops to sustain global food shortage.
The answer is simple. Cut down on bio-fuel cultivation. The major reason for the recent food shortages is increasing land use for bio-fuels cultivation. The EU has already taken steps in that direction.
By changing their habit of wasting food,the American society can save plenty of food,which can be utilised for feeding more than 5 millions peoples.
Global hunger can be tackled if the following points are noted.
Firstly, people of richer nations should be educated about the need of avoiding waste of food.
Secondly, poor nations (especially in African) should be given the latest techniques of agriculture, so that they can increase agricultural production.
Thirdly, cut bio-fuels sowing. The EU has already done that. More research is needed to discover more efficient bio-fuels.
Firstly, people of richer nations should be educated about the need of avoiding waste of food.
Secondly, poor nations (especially in African) should be given the latest techniques of agriculture, so that they can increase agricultural production.
Thirdly, cut bio-fuels sowing. The EU has already done that. More research is needed to discover more efficient bio-fuels.