Have you noticed the rising food prices lately? For us in Western Canada the event is annoying and, for some, serious. But consider the impact on most of the world’s people. The majority of these people, who live in Africa, exist on a dollar a day or less ,and must spend two-thirds of their income on food. In a United Nations article, written by Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary General mentions a number of incidents in which people have stopped buying rice by the bag and are now buying by the cup. In the Ivory Coast leaders told Mr. Ki-Moon that they fear the shortage of food will actually undermine the country’s struggle to achieve democracy – a goal that they have been working toward for a decade and which they have nearly accomplished.
The President and the foreign minister of Burkina Faso in North-West Africam Blaise Compaore and Djibril Bassole, respectively, are desperate to feed their people. One-half of the population has a dollar per day of disposable income, and most of these are small farmers. The foreign minister stated that: “The crisis in food is a greater threat by far than terrorism. It makes people doubt their dignity as men. The issues of hunger and survival and how to live have become burning issues for the international community.”
Farmers are also planting less this year than they did last year. Though the price of food has skyrocketed, so has the price of fertilizer, leaving the farmers with an unsolvable problem. Countries such as Mali, Laos, Ethiopia, and Somalia are left with nothing to put in their tummies and nothing to grow it with, in any case.
One of the major causes of this destruction is the rush to produce biofuels. Biofuels have become something of a planet-saviour, encouraging many countries to subsidize the growth of crops used in their production. In Third World nations, many farmers, desperate to feed their families, are growing these crops as they sell for more than the normal food plants. This practice causes a vicious cycle for poor farmers as they are not growing food staples, which raises the prices of these crops, further increasing poverty.
The rise of food prices has caused some nations to impose export bans on their food crops, to impose price bans, or to draft new laws or regulations to cope with grain shortages. Though these measures may help somewhat, the rising cost of diesel fuel used to move grain crops and other foods will offset any real benefit.
Perhaps the greatest threat of all, and one that is closely related to the swing to biofuels, is climate change. John Holmes, the undersecretary general of humanitarian affairs and emergency relief co-ordinator for the United Nations stated at a conference in Dubai that “a perfect storm” is brewing for many of the world’s people. Climate change, combined with soaring food prices and shortages, have come together to create this catastrophe. In an ‘Associated Press’ article by Barbara Surk, reporting on the Dubai conference, Holmes said, “The security implications (of the food crisis) should also not be underestimated as food riots are already being reported across the globe. Current food price trends are likely to increase sharply both the incidence and depth of food insecurity.” This storm has already been seen in food riots such areas as Haiti, Egypt, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Ivory Coast. General strikes have occurred in Burkina Faso, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, Indonesia, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Thailand, and Pakistan.
The international community is aware of the crisis.
