GROWING FOOD CRISIS- A WORLD-WIDE CONCERN

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (third from left) chairs the inaugural meeting of a high-level task force seeking to devise a strategy to tackle soaring food prices. The plan will encompass both short and longer-term measures – including food aid and social protection – to alleviate the impact of the crisis on the hardest hit. (12 May 2008)

GROWING FOOD CRISIS- A WORLD-WIDE CONCERN

The dramatic rise in world food prices has once again forced hunger to the top of the humanitarian agenda. Aid groups have long been warning about the consequences of trade imbalances and climate change, but food riots in Africa and Asia have finally brought the issue into the limelight. The United Nations said this week that 100 million people are now urgently at risk of not having enough food to eat -- and that includes people on every continent of the world.

Rising fuel costs, erratic weather patterns, and the conversion of land to grow crops for biofuels are all factors. Rising incomes in poorer countries have also increased food demand in recent years, diminishing global reserves. To protect their citizens, some food exporting countries have now limited what they send abroad. And aid groups can't provide as much as they used to.

But the biggest concern may be that these changes are not temporary, since they result largely from fundamental shifts in the global economy and environment.

Groups Working on Food Security

1) ACADEMY FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

AED believes that nutrition is an essential component of human and national development. AED supports nutrition activities, ranging from comprehensive programs to short-term technical assistance, product research and marketing, and evaluation in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, as well as the United States.

2) ACDI/ VOCA

ACDI/VOCA recognizes that in order to succeed in its mission of promoting economic opportunities, we must first ensure that beneficiaries can meet their basic household needs and that vulnerability to future crises is reduced. Through the development of open markets and income-generating activities aimed at the rural poor, ACDI/VOCA increases availability of food in local markets as well as consumer access to food. Furthermore, as needed, ACDI/VOCA and its partners directly provide food rations to vulnerable populations.

3) ACTION AGAINST HUNGER

At Action Against Hunger, our food security programming forms a continuum with the work we do in nutrition. While our feeding centers restore to health individuals suffering from severe and acute malnutrition, our food security programs help prevent future outbreaks of it.

4) ACTIONAID U.S.A.

ActionAid brings the voices of hungry people to the halls of power, where the policies that control the distribution of food and resources are made. We couple insight from our on-the-ground work in Africa, Asia, and the Americas with solid research to craft policy proposals that will bring food to the hungry. We then take these solutions to congress, agency leaders, and other decision makers here in the United States to fight for fair policies that will improve access to food for all.

5) AMERICAS POLICY PROGRAM

The Americas Policy Program is publishing analysis from throughout the hemisphere on how the food crisis is affecting real people. Our first two articles in this series are "Haitian Food Riots Unnerving But Not Surprising" and "The Real Crisis of Argentina's Agricultural Sector." We also have a series called Fueling the Debate: Agrofuels, Biodiversity, and Our Energy Future. Please visit www.americaspolicy.org for our latest analysis.

6) ASIA AMERICA INITIATIVE

Asia America Initiative (AAI) believes that in order to promote peace and community-based economic development in communities living in areas of severe poverty, terror, and armed conflict, we must first ensure their basic human needs are addressed. Our nutrition and agricultural livelihood programs provide health assistance to children and their families suffering from malnutrition and water-borne diseases and our farming programs empower agricultural communities to not only be food-sufficient but provide surplus through international agencies to other communities in desperate need.

7) CENTRE FOR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT

"Rising food prices may signal the onset of a new kind of Malthusian era, in which elevated food prices are a long-term reality driven....If that is the case, the world ought to focus on boosting the long-term global supply of food -- including via food-friendly trade policy. A new deal on hunger requires that trade help rather than aggravate food shortages around the world," says the Center for Global Development in an Apr. 21 policy analysis.

8) COPTIC ORPHANS

Coptic Orphans works through a network of over 250 grassroots volunteers in Egypt, where the food crisis has caused riots. Our highly-trained volunteer "Reps" identify children and families who have lost a father and provide access to basic rights such as literacy, food, health, and adequate housing. The BBC reports on the food crisis in Egypt: "20 percent of the country's population lives below the poverty line. Another 13 percent are just above it and for them, any wobble in consumer prices means they go under." In a nation where an estimated 45 percent of children suffer from iron-deficient anemia, with rates much higher for rural female-headed households, access to nutritious food is critical.

9) CORPORATE ACCOUTABILITY INTERNATIONAL

The growing concentration of agricultural production is endangering small farms. In 2002, just 8 percent of American farms accounted for 72 percent of sales. In the developing world, where 70 percent of the people make their living off the land, the situation is even worse. This is why Corporate Accountability International is working internationally to challenge three of the biggest food and agribusiness corporations in the world -- Monsanto, Cargill and Dow -- for poisoning our environment, bankrupting small farmers, and turning basic fruits, vegetables, and meat into luxuries we can't afford.

10) EARTH POLICY INSTITUTE

"Business-as-usual is no longer a viable option. Food security will deteriorate further unless leading countries can collectively mobilize to stabilize population, restrict the use of grain to produce automotive fuel, stabilize climate, stabilize water tables and aquifers, protect cropland, and conserve soils," says the Earth Policy Institute in its latest policy analysis on the global food crisis.

11) GLOBAL GIVING

GlobalGiving connects you to over 450 pre-screened grassroots charity projects around the world. It's an efficient, transparent way to make an impact with your giving.

12) GRASSROOTS INTERNATIONAL

Resource rights, particularly the rights to land, water, and food, are critical for human dignity and survival. Today these are under assault by corporate-led globalization. There is an alternative -- in the vibrant global social justice movement demanding and defending resource rights as basic human rights. That's why we are focusing our efforts to support the work of the different movements and groups that are part of this global phenomenon, primarily small producers such as peasants, small farmers, fishers, farm and forest workers, women, and indigenous peoples. As part of this, we provide support for community-led, sustainable development projects to help secure the human rights to land, water, and food.

13) INDIA RESOURCE CENTRE

India Resource Center believes that "achieving food security will involve consciously planning for the needs of the farmers in India, not abandoning them as has been the case since 1991 when the Indian government began to liberalize the economy. It will also involve guaranteeing genuine land reforms for most Indians, especially in the light that land holding size has been steadily declining over the years." India Resource Center provides a platform internationally for social movements in India.

14) INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES/ FOREIGN POLICY IN FOCUS

Foreign Policy In Focus is a "Think Tank Without Walls" connecting the research and action of more than 600 scholars, advocates, and activists seeking to make the United States a more responsible global partner. It is a project of the Institute for Policy Studies. Their articles on food and agriculture policy date back to 1996.

15) InterAction

InterAction members and their local partners are responding through a variety of mechanisms in communities where they have worked for decades, camps that shelter vulnerable populations, and countries where the needs are acute.

16) INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI is committed to providing global food policy knowledge as an international public good; that is, it provides knowledge relevant to decision makers both inside and outside the countries in which it undertakes research. New knowledge on how to improve the food security of low-income people in developing countries is expected to result in large social benefits, but in most instances the private sector is unlikely to carry out research to generate such knowledge.

17) LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF

LWR's programs focus on eliminating the root causes of hunger and poverty, making people self-sufficient and less vulnerable to price shocks. By addressing long-term food security, we enable communities to withstand price fluctuations. In situations of dire need, we may also include immediate food aid along with long-term programming to enhance food security.

18) MADRE

MADRE provides humanitarian aid to communities suffering from acute hunger and malnutrition as a result of economic and political violence and supports projects that ensure a reliable, long-term source of food, potable water, and income for women and their families. MADRE also offers trainings that empower women to advocate for their social and economic rights, including the right to food as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Rome Declaration on World Food Security.

19) MERCY COPS

Mercy Corps' food programs, whether responding to large-scale emergencies or ongoing poverty, concentrate on those who are most vulnerable -- children, the elderly, pregnant women and the homeless.

20) PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK NORTH AMERICA

The Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) works to replace pesticides and industrial agriculture with just, ecologically sound alternatives worldwide. A central challenge we face today is how to strengthen the resilience of our food systems, rural communities, and agro ecosystems in the face of environmental crises. The good news is that achieving sustainable and profitable agriculture is possible in our lifetimes. Accomplishing this transition will require concerted action at both the global and local levels, and from both public and private sectors.

21) WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE

The Worldwatch Institute is an independent research organization known around the world for its accessible, fact-based analysis of critical global issues. Its online feature on food looks at eating local, factory farming, and the nexus of food, climate change, and community health.