Canadian & World Issues Nature of Food and Poverty

The Importance of Food In the Global Village of 100 people, the villagers have many animals. They help to produce food or are a source of food. They are: –31 sheep and goats –23 cows, bulls, and oxen –15 pigs –3 camels –2 horses –189 chickens (yes, there are nearly TWICE as many chickens as people in the Global Village!)

The Importance of Food There is no shortage of food in the Global Village. If all the food were divided equally, everyone would have enough to eat. But the food is not divided equally…. So, although there is enough food to feed the villagers, not everyone is well fed: –60 people are always hungry, and 26 of these are severely undernourished –16 other people go to bed hungry at least some of the time –Only 24 people always have enough to eat.

The Importance of Food In 1966, the United Nations declared that people have a universal right to adequate food. Unfortunately this is not occurring….

Geography of Poverty & Hunger The next few slides are to be read silently by everyone in the room. Take the time to internalize each slide as you read it.

Geography of Poverty & Hunger We have all been hungry at some time: a missed meal, a delayed dinner…. Perhaps you have been sick and unable to eat. You have felt the gnawing pain of hunger. You may recall being tired or cranky as your body adapted to the lack of energy. Think back to such a time and remember that feeling. Feel it again now.

Geography of Poverty & Hunger Now imagine you are in a situation where you cannot get food and this feeling continues for a whole day. How does the feeling of hunger change? Imagine it. How does your body react to the lack of food? Imagine the consequences of a day without food.

Geography of Poverty & Hunger It is one week later and the only food you’ve eaten is some bread and water. You have lost weight as your body draws from its reserves. Imagine the feeling of hunger now. Imagine how your ability to perform simple tasks has been affected.

Geography of Poverty & Hunger Imagine the situation continuing for months… years… or a lifetime… Any thoughts, feelings, or consequences of hunger that you mentally visualized?

Geography of Poverty & Hunger Starvation is a state of suffering caused by not having enough food to sustain life. Famine is an extreme scarcity of food that occurs when the resource base shrinks because of a natural phenomenon such as drought. Cash crops are agricultural products that are grown solely for sale, rather than for consumption by the growers.

Geography of Poverty & Hunger Chronic hunger is a condition in which essential nutrients are excluded from the diet over an extended period. Malnutrition is a condition in which there is a deficiency of one or more proteins, minerals, or vitamins in a diet.

Geography of Poverty & Hunger The global food system is based on large scale commercialization, domination by large transnational corporations who control trade and pricing in food commodities and vast amounts of farmers, workers, and land and on an increasing emphasis on growing cash-crops for export. Many developing countries are economically dependent on single commodities. Commodity and food prices have not risen significantly in the past decade while the cost of input has risen dramatically.

Geography of Poverty & Hunger The global food system responded to the demands of rapidly growing population throughout the second half of the twentieth century with some success. BUT not all the world’s peoples enjoyed this expansion of food supplies (with problems such as the depletion of fish stocks and the exhaustion of farmland). It is clear that our present methods of producing, processing, and distributing food will NOT solve world hunger.

Geography of Poverty & Hunger We are part of a global food system. The peanut farmer in Senegal is probably not producing food for local needs. The pressure to produce cash crops for export over domestic food crops is huge. This might be best exemplified by the Global Chocolate Bar! Sugar - Cocoa - Peanuts - Palm Oil - Coconut Oil - Soybean Oil - Milk - NICARAGUA IVORY COAST SENEGAL MALAYSIA THE PHILIPPINES BRAZIL CANADA }

Geography of Poverty & Hunger Myths & Facts - Read the dozen statements regarding world hunger and determine whether they are myths or facts. Explanations - Identify as many reasons for global hunger that you can. Solutions – What sorts of steps could governments take to try to ensure that everyone’s needs are met (large-scale farmers, small-scale farmers, and the hungry poor)? What could YOU do?

Factors Affecting Food Supply Plants & Animals Government Policy Traditional Food Production Cash Crops & Agribusinesses Modern Food Production Environmental Deterioration Pests Control of Land Military Spending Natural Hazards Foreign Aid

Factors Affecting Food Supply Strategies that have been used to increase the global food supply include…. –Increasing the amount of land under cultivation –Increasing the yields per hectare of crops –Increasing the number of crops grown on each hectare of cropland –Replacing lower yielding crops with higher yielding crops –Reducing post harvest losses (pests & spoilage) –Reducing the use of feed for animals (there is enough grain to feed 7.8 billion people) –Reducing overconsumption and waste of food

Factors Affecting Food Supply Did you know that… –In Canada crops are purposefully not grown or are destroyed in order to keep supply in line with demand so that prices stay higher. –The FAO’s latest estimates indicate that in , there were 815 million undernourished people in the world: 777 million in developing countries, 27 million in countries switching to a market economy, and 11 million in industrialized countries.

Factors Affecting Food Supply Adding to the problems of distribution of food to the world’s poor is the rising food prices The United Nations’ World Food Program has indicated that it will have a $500 million shortfall in its $2.9 billion budget in 2008 Food prices have skyrocketed in recent years due to several factors, which include: Rising transportation costs due to fuel price hikes Bad harvests due to droughts Economic booms in developing nations that have led to increased staple demands Agricultural shifts towards biofuel rather than food production

Factors Affecting Food Supply The dropping price of the U.S. dollar is adding to the problem – it is the global currency used for food purchases There is more need…people are being priced out of the market Crop-yield loses are expected in over 40 developing countries in 2008 In the past, countries like the United States would chip in directly with food donations from excess grown by farmers…but demand has grown…prices have shot up….. wheat prices have increased by as much as 67% The era of surplus food is over!