by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(May 8, 2008) While most Americans are just beginning to feel the pinch of rising food prices, the problem is already causing long lines, personal hardship and even riots and violence in some parts of the world.
“What we are seeing is unprecedented,” says Catholic Relief Services (CRS) food aid expert Lisa Kuennen-Asfaw in a press release. “If immediate needs are not met, and if resources and policies supporting increased agricultural production are not put in place soon, we are heading for a cascade of hunger the world over.”
Rising fuel prices, unpredictable weather and demand from emerging economies such as India and China has caused sharp increases in the price of some of the most basic foods, such as wheat, rice, milk and meat, on the global market. The situation has become so dire in some countries that experts are warning of an impending hunger crisis if something isn’t done to control the situation.
Rice, which is the staple food for three billion people worldwide has tripled in price in the last 18 months. The price of wheat has doubled in less than year and other staples such as corn, maize and soy are also trading well above the 1990’s levels. In some countries, prices for milk and meat have more than doubled.
Soaring prices are causing incredible hardship around the world. In Egypt, where a 110 pound sack of wheat jumped from $8 to $25 in two years, people are unable to afford bread and must stand in long lines to buy government-subsidized bread, often missing work or school to do so.
In the West Bank, students are being forced to quit school because of the increasing cost of food and transportation with many households depending on family members who live in other countries to send money to help them survive.
Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity have seen a 20 percent increase in demand for their services in Ethiopia where more and more women, children, elderly and disabled can no longer afford housing and food costs and are being forced to live off the streets.
Surging food prices have been sparking violent protests across Africa, Asia and the Carribbean.
In Haiti, a nation already plagued by chronic hunger, deadly street riots are breaking out. CRS reports that demonstrators blame the cost of food and a lethargic government for their discontent.
“The anger is palpable across the globe,” says Sean Callahan, CRS’ executive vice president of overseas operations. “The food crisis is not only being felt among the poor but it is also eroding the gains of the working and middle classes, sowing volatile levels of discontent and putting new pressures on fragile governments.”
At the heart of the crisis is too much demand and not enough supply, says CRS experts, with the worst hit countries being those that consume more than they produce. Poor countries need to significantly bolster agricultural production in both the near- and long-term, they say.
“One solution,” says Kuennen-Asfaw, “is to provide a support mechanism to small farmers through production safety net programs such as subsidizing seeds and fertilizers. This won’t address the longer-term production problems, but will significantly help boost agricultural production and increase yields during the nest growing season.”
The World Food Program has put together a 30-country watch list to identify those areas of the world most in need. CRS experts are also recommending food and cash transfer programs that could be carried out by using food vouchers, cash-for-work and food-for-work programs. They are also recommending that the U.S. government increase its immediate food aid and funding by at least $1.1 billion this year.
Although they are very concerned about the growing food crisis, they’re hopeful that the implementation of some of the above programs will help avert widespread famine in the future.
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Women of Grace Study Questions:
1) Two of the seven Corporal Works of Mercy deal specifically with hunger. What are they?
2) Christian charity is a lot more than just giving food or money to the poor. What are the distinctive marks of Christian charity? (See No. 31 in Deus Caritas Est by Pope Benedict XVI available on-line at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/document.php?n=104 )
