Issue and Action: The Global Food Crisis

Earlier this year, we were hearing from major news outlets about the world food crisis. Between the months of January and April of this year, rice prices increased globally by 141 percent. This was big news here in the United States; I remember hearing that in my home state of Utah, people were buying up all the rice and wheat in sight because of fears over the crisis. But the reports sometimes underplayed the extent to how keenly this price difference was felt in other parts of the world. Keep in mind that there are one billion people in the world who live in less than $1 a day. For many of these people, 75 percent of their income may go to providing food for their families. You can imagine that on a budget like that, any amount of food-price inflation can be catastrophic. We read about riots in West Africa, civil unrest in Haiti, panic and despair all over the world.

When the first reports of the crisis were released, governments from around the world pledged $12 billion in food aid to the hardest-hit countries. Now, five months later, right around $1 billion of that promised amount has been delivered. It's interesting to consider how quickly our government managed to act when the financial markets crashed last month--but how lethargically our government (and others) is moving to respond to the food crisis.

At this point, many countries are still suffering from inflated food prices. Partially as a result of the global community's delayed reaction to the food crisis, the situation is still serious. According to United Nations estimates, the number of malnourished people around the world has grown, over the course of the past year, from 850 million to 925 million people. This means that after decades of progress in reducing world hunger, we are seeing the progress rolled backward, and for the first time in years, there are more hungry people around the world than there were last year.

I just finished an online conference call with Oxfam America, a humanitarian organization that does respected work nationally and internationally. One country highlighted in the conference call was Bangladesh. In the past 9 months, rice prices have risen 90 percent, and as a result the national poverty level has risen from 40 percent to 48 percent. (Keep in mind people fit into this definition of poverty if they are making less than $1.25 per day.) In Haiti, where riots earlier this year ended up in five people dying, people are resorting to eating "mud cakes" out of salt, vegetable shortening, and mud. Hunger and malnutrition already contribute to the deaths of 3.5 million children per year globally, and the numbers are bound to increase with this crisis. As grains like wheat and rice become more expensive, families are often obliged to cut out fruit, vegetables, and protein sources from their diets, and the myriad effects of poor nutrition ensue.

There are many different reasons for this ongoing problem. I'll briefly mention a few. Fundamentally, there have been a number of droughts this year in less-developed countries. (As the world's climate changes and the weather becomes more unpredictable, this is expected to be an ongoing challenge.) As emerging economies develop more capital (e.g. China) and begin to eat more like Americans, the world's grains are increasingly used for beef production rather than human consumption (and it takes 700 calories worth of animals' feed to produce 100 calories of beef). The instability of oil prices doesn't help, either--as oil prices go up, agricultural expenses follow suit. Additionally, as the U.S. has increasingly subsidized biofuel production (something many other developed countries to, too), the price of grain has risen; in other words, rich countries' energy policies have contributed to the rising cost of food around the world.

Oxfam's approach to this crisis has three different levels of intervention. The short term interventions are simple: emergency food aid. Particularly now, as winter is approaching in countries like Afghanistan (where humanitarian conditions are, according to what I learned today, currently the worst they've been in 20 years), emergency food aid is crucial. Middle-term interventions include improving access to food and supporting farmers in less-developed countries in their production efforts and stepping up our support of local reserves around the world. Long-term intervention is also key, though, and it revolves around reforming some of the underlying policies. The conference call a number of examples of policy changes that would be beneficial:

* Rethink the way the U.S. distributes food aid. Currently, the U.S. donates a lot of food aid--which is great--but typically the food is purchased here in the States then shipped overseas. This doubles the cost and slows deliveries. In countries where resources are available (but still unaffordable), it is quicker and more cost-efficient to a) purchase the food there, or b) distribute cash instead, assuming there is enough food on the market that people can purchase it themselves.

* Reinvest in agriculture. In the past, 30 percent of the U.S.'s international aid went to agriculture programs; now it is down to only 5 percent. Agricultural support programs would increase poor farmers' ability to increase production. (Since agriculture is an industry that relies heavily on credit at the beginning of the planting season, increasing credit options for poor farmers would enable them to produce more.) As it is right now, the lack of agricultural support is turning poor countries into importers and taking away their ability to feed themselves.

* Rethink biofuels. Currently in the U.S., one-quarter of the corn produced is converted to ethanol. This would make sense if there was a global food surplus, but currently there is a shortage, so that corn could be better-used.

So this week I've got two action suggestions for you from Oxfam.

Action #1
Participate in the Fast for a World Harvest. Fast for a World Harvest is an ongoing event; in 1974, a group of 250,000 people fasted the Thursday before Thanksgiving and donated the money to Oxfam. Since then, people and groups have conducted fasts, organized hunger banquets, and sponsored community events to raise awareness about global hunger issues and raise money for the cause. Since this month is Thanksgiving, it's perfect timing for you to express your personal gratitude and simultaneously offer a token to those who are suffering from hunger.

There a number of ways you can participate in Oxfam's ongoing Fast for a World Harvest. One way is to make it personal: Set a goal to fast for a meal or a day, in solidarity with people suffering from hunger, then donate the money you would have spent on this meal (to Oxfam or another humanitarian organization of your choice). If you are involved with a community or campus group, think about sponsoring an event; the above link will provide you with organizational information and free materials. Also, communities and campuses around the country are sponsoring Fast for a World Harvest events (like Hunger Banquets): click here to search for events in your community.

This really is the ideal time to participate in the Fast. Next week is Thanksgiving, when we celebrate our abundance with food. What better time to remind ourselves of the fact that this abundance is not a global fact?

Action #2
Take a seat at Oxfam's World Table. Remember those choose-your-own adventure books we used to read as kids? In this interactive application, you can follow the life of one of six people living in a less-developed country, "make choices" and see some of the common dilemmas faced by people. I really recommend sitting down and trying this out when you have a few free minutes. It's good food for thought.

Also, check out the Africa Peace and Justice Network; they have a section of their website dedicated to international agricultural issues. On the green sidebar, you'll find information about two related legislative bills (one on farm aid and one on food aid) that you can research and write your legislators about.