Six months ago we saw headlines and stories about a world food crisis. There were food riots, food shortages in 40 countries and more than a hundred million new hungry people in our world. That is certainly a crisis but even before that time there were about 850,000,000 hungry people with 24,000 dying from hunger related diseases each day. Another TWO BILLION people barely survive on less than $2 a day, so that means that altogether THREE BILLION PEOPLE ON THE PLANET ARE HUNGRY. That is not simply a temporary crisis, it is the sign of a broken system. Our international food system cannot feed almost half its people adequately despite a record grain harvest last year and more than enough food every year to feed the world.
There are many causes for this breakdown but at the root of the problem is one simple cause. We have allowed our food system to become a transnational profit driven system that sees food primarily as a commodity. Of course, food is a commodity but it is much more than that. It is a basic human right. It is seen as sacred by all of the major religions and native traditions and is a basic element in family and community life. Food is life. If we truly believe that, feel it in our hearts and in our guts then we will not allow massive hunger on our planet. We will challenge the international food system that is controlled by a relatively few multinational food companies that dominate the production, marketing and transportation of the basic grains and produce that are eaten by billions of people.
The first place to start this massive shift is at the local level by providing more support for small and medium sized farmers. Most of the research money and farm subsidies go to large farmers and agribusiness but 85 percent of all farms around the world are two hectares or less. These are the people who are growing the food that their neighbors eat. They are on average much more efficient than the factory farms and are easier on the environment. Tragicly, millions of them go out of business every year and wind up poor and hungry in slums on the outskirts of cities all over the world. Local farmers need to have deeds to their land, seeds, farm implements, credit, a fair price for their crops and local infrastructure including schools, medical facilities, roads and markets. They also need appropriate technology to mix with their own traditional methods that use the land, water and air in a way that is not destructive of the environment and are sustainable. There is a well intentioned quick fix solution being put forward for a New Green Revolution. The proponents believe that only this high tech energy intensive method can produce the amount of food needed to feed the world. New studies show that agro-ecological sustainable methods, when properly funded can produce more than enough food for our world, reduce costs of transportation and preserve farmland and the surrounding environment.
Small farmers are on average enormously productive and good stewards of the land. Our government, governments throughout the world and international agencies including the United Nations have not provided the assistance to small farmers that they need and deserve. The best place to start in the battle against hunger is by investing in research and aid to small farmers that will keep them on the land as our major source of food in the midst of an increasing global food crisis. Our present food system is broken but we can fix it starting at its source, our farmers.
