HungerWednesday highlights this interesting article from Ms. Lim Li Ching of TWN about how the widespread practice of sustainable agriculture can practically solve the current global food crisis and at the same time alleviate climate change.
The challenges facing agriculture today are immense. Of immediate concern is the global increase in food prices, starkly brought home by reports of food riots and food shortages in many countries around the world. During the first three months of 2008, international nominal prices of all major food commodities reached their highest levels in nearly 50 years while prices in real terms were the highest in nearly 30 years (FAO, 2008).
While the FAO food price index[1] rose, on average, 8 percent in 2006 compared with the previous year, it increased by 24 percent in 2007 compared to 2006. The increase in the average of the index for the first three months of 2008 compared to the same three months in 2007 was 53 percent. The continuing surge in prices is led by vegetable oils, which on average increased by more than 97 percent during the same period, followed by grains with 87 percent, dairy products with 58 percent and rice with 46 percent. The FAO estimates that the number of hungry people increased by about 50 million in 2007 as a result of soaring food prices.
