The Current World Food Crisis

Let them eat cake-Marie Antoinette vs.
Feed the hungry -Jesus

Need I say more? Well, okay. This is what I've learned from the Economist, and the BBC: "Food price inflation is moving through the world, leaving riots and shaken governments." The WFP (World Food Programme) believes 100 million people are currently going short of food. The human suffering is likely to be vast. Poor harvests, global warming, increasing demand, and transfer of food land to biofuel production are all four cited as factors in the crisis. The UN Secretary Mr Ban Ki-moon warned of "widespread hunger, malnutrition and social unrest on an unprecedented scale" because of soaring food prices.

Haiti's goverment was overturned, Bangladesh is in turmoil, even China is worried. Famine traditionally means mass starvation. In this crisis, the result is misery and malnutrition. The middle classes in poor countries are giving up health care and cutting out meat so they can eat 3 meals a day. Those on $2 a day (Asia has two-thirds of the world's poor, with about 1.7 billion people earning $2 a day or lower) are pulling children from school and cutting back on vegetables so they can afford rice. Those on a dollar a day (roughly a billion -1.1b I think, is the estimate-) are cutting back on meat, vegetables, and one or two meals, so they can afford one bowl. Those on 50 cents a day face disaster. BILLIONS. That's a lot of affected people.

What are the current poverty numbers? Roughly a billion (1.1 billion I think, is the estimate) live on a dollar a day or less. 1.5 billion people live on $1 to $2 a day. Thus, it seems the measure of the world's poor (under $2 a day) would be 2.6B, but charity.org says it's 2.8 billion (out of 6.6B, or 42%). Asia has two-thirds of the world's poor, with about 1.7 billion people earning $2 a day or lower.

Some results of the crisis: 24 people were killed in riots in Cameroon; Egypt's president ordered the army to start making bread; the Philippines made hoarding rice punishable by life-imprisonment. In El Salvador the poor are eating only half as much food as a year ago. Afghans are now spending half their income on food, up from a tenth in 2006. Because civil strife is growing with the turmoil in the markets, trade and openness could be undermined, becoming a challenge to globalization. The Economist says rich countries need to take this problem as seriously as the credit crunch. Duh, I say. It sounds more important, to me. But that's just me.

The rising cost of food is helping to fuel inflation, which the Asian Development Bank predicts will rise to more than 5% across Asia this year - the highest level since the Asian financial crisis a decade ago. Food price inflation could push 100m people into poverty, wiping out a decade's worth of gains for the world's poorest billion souls.

Solutions:
1. The WFP, to distribute the same amount of food as last year, needs an extra $700m, because it's purchasing power has been cut by the rising cost of grain. The WFP is the world's safety net, as the world's largest distributor of food aid. The economist says it should also be allowed to broaden what it does; i.e. distribute cash, not (just) food, because doling out free grain damages local markets. Thus, programs like food stamps or work for food programs are in order.

2. Also, governments need to liberalize markets; Quotas, subsidies, and controls like trade restrictions have the effect of raising prices. This doesn't mean there is no role for government: since the way to feed the world is not the bring more land under cultivation, but to increase yields, science is crucial. Basic science can produce higher-yielding seeds. Also, governments can fund irrigation projects that small-scale farms cannot afford.