The Global Food Crisis
The Global Food Crisis
What is it?
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Food prices have risen 83% on average compared with three years ago. As a result, many more people are going hungry or have to choose between food and other things that they need, like getting medical help or going to school.
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Because most people living in poverty spend 50-80% of their income on food, the rise in prices hits them hardest.
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Persistent hunger affects 854 million people around the world. The rise in prices is expected to add push another 290 million people over the edge.
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In rural areas, landless labourers, nomadic pastoralists and women are the groups most severely affected.
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Even small-scale farmers face hunger, because many of them do not produce enough to satisfy all their needs.
Why is it happening?
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Climate change is certainly a major cause. Unusually extreme weather, including droughts, floods and storms, have reduced crop yield in many parts of the world.
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The World Bank says the massive diversion of corn to produce ethanol in North America was a trigger for the rise in food prices.
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The rising cost of fossil fuels too has driven up the cost of fertilizer and other inputs that farmers need
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Lack of government investment in small-scale food production in recent decades has made it harder for farmers to take advantage of higher prices and produce more food.
What can be done?
We need to:
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Encourage and support farmers who grow food in sustainable ways, both locally and internationally.
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Become more environmentally responsible to minimize the effects of climate change.
The Canadian government needs to:
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Provide urgent assistance to countries facing immediate food shortages.
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Move quickly to reduce Canada`s greenhouse gas emissions, and take leadership at the United Nations in forging a new post-Kyoto deal.
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Redirect Canada`s ethanol subsidies toward alternative fuels that do not drive up the price of food.
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Increase Canada`s development assistance and use more of it to help small-scale farmers produce more food
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Provide additional assistance to help poor countries adapt to climate change.
HELP OXFAM STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY
