A Global Food Crisis

By Nina Sandström Angelsen

Selbu videregående skole

English Subject Curriculum

Culture, society and literature

• The aims of the studies are to enable pupils to

– elaborate on and discuss a number of international and global challenges

2008 – The Year of Global Food Crisis

• 2008 was announced as the year of global food crisis

• The Sunday Herald described

the world’s food situation as:

”The Biggest Crisis of the 21st Century”

”The Biggest Crisis of the 21st Century” • Millions of people around the world are

starving because of food scarcity and high prices on staple food* such as grain, rice, soya beans, and maize

• In 2008 – prices on these staples increased dramatically

• Many developing countries today are facing a food crisis and all of them will need help to deal with this crisis:

– Many of these countries are in Africa, Asia, and South-America

* Sikringskost eller hovedernæringskilde

Last Year’s Global Food Crisis2008

What was last year’s global food crisisabout?

• Rising food prices:• Food prices rose by 75% since 2000, which was a

dramatic increase.– Wheat prices increased by 200%– The cost of rice, corn and soy beans also reached

record highs

• The rise of prices on rice, corn, and grain was especially serious since these foods form the main food sources for a great number of people in Asia, Africa and Central America and without which millions of people face starvation and death

• There is food available in the markets and shops but because of the high prices people could not afford to buy it and as a result starved

• If prices on staple foods (sikringskost) such as rice, grain, corn and soy beans sky-rocket, people around the earth are unable to afford the food they need to stay alive.

A Global Food Shortage?• Maybe - in the future!

• The world’s population is increasing

• It is estimated that by 2050 – the world’s population will be around 9 billion people

• In order to feed the growing population – the world needs to double its production of food by 2050

• If it fails to do so - millions of people will starve

Food Shortage

• Food shortage has and might become a serious problem:

– China’s grain harvest has shrunk by 10% over the past seven years

– The world’s grain stocks (kornlagre) have been greatly reduced

– In India last year, more than 25,000 farmers took their own lives, driven to despair by grain shortages and farming debts.

What Are Some of the Causes Behind the Global Food Crisis?

The World’s Population Is Increasing

The world’s population has steadily increased since the 1800s

It is estimated that the world’s population will reach 9 billion by 2050

In order to feed this growing number of people – we need to double today’s production of food

However, according to UN climate scientists higher temperatures and global warming will lead to droughts and floods that destroy crops of grain, rice, and other staple foods around the world and leave farmlands dried up

As a result - we might be heading for a severe food shortage in the future and we might not be able to feed everyone

Millions of people might starve to death

Fleeing the Countryside and Farming – Urbanization of Societies

Prior to year 2000, prices on corn, rice and grain were unusually low

As a result many farmers, especially in the developing countries such as China, Indian and Africa, were unable to handle their farming debts and/or make a living off their crop-growing land

In addition to that, they also experienced years of crop failure due to droughts and floods and other natural disasters

As a result many farmers experienced foreclosures or abandoned their farms altogether, leaving farmland to waste, and went searching for jobs in the cities

• The flight from the countryside, farming and farming-related occupations, is called urbanization of society

• More and more people around the world live in towns and big cities and are engaged in occupations other than farming

• The process of increased urbanization has been going on since the beginning of the age of industrialization

• Today this means that cities are expanding (utvider seg) and this expansion involves using farmland to make room for new buildings and roads (infrastructure). As a result acres of crop-growing land have been lost, worsening the food shortage today.

Trends in Urbanization

Global Warming• According to a majority of the

world’s climate scientists, higher temperatures caused by global warming will result in an increase of droughts and flooding around the world

• Vast areas of farmland might dry up or be flooded, leaving it useless for farming and the growing of food

• According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a one-metre rise in sea-level over the next 100 years might flood almost 1/3 of the world’s crop-growing land

• Droughts and floodings will destroy crops and crop-growing land.

• This might in turn lead to a serious food shortage worldwide.

• As a result, the world’s stocks of grain, rice, corn and other staple foods will be greatly reduced and millions of people will starve.

• According to the United Nations, an area of fertile* soil the size of Ukraine is lost every year because of drought, deforestation* and climate changes.

The Production of Biofuels • The threat of global warming caused by emissions

of man-made greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) that are released into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal has resulted in a search for so-called “green” fuels that can power our vehicles (cars, trucks, boats, and planes)

• One of these “green” fuels is biofuel which is made from crops such as maize (mais)

• The use of farmland and crops to produce biofuels has increased in recent years. However, with a growing global food crisis on our hands, experts fear that the use of vast areas of farmland to grow crops for bio-fuels might contribute to the growing food shortage in the world. In other words, in a world of food shortage and starvation, valuable farmland is used to “grow food to feed cars instead of people”

• More than 20 countries plan to increase their production of bio-fuels over the next decade

• Last year a ¼ of the US maize crops was turned into ethanol to fuel vehicles (kjøretøyer), and the US is planning to treble maize production to make biofuels or ethanol.

Global Warming

Natural DisastersHurricanes, Torandoes, Tsunamies, Droughts, Floods,etc.

• Severe droughts and other natural disasters such as the Asian tsunami have destroyed crops in Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, and central-America

• Last year Australia experienced its worst drought for over a century, and as a result its wheat crop shrank by 60%

• In Europe, severe droughts have destroyed half the crops in Spain and Portugal. Both countries have applied to the EU for food assistance

• Many countries, especially African countries, have had their worst droughts in more than 10 years and are now experiencing their third or fourth severe drought in a just a few years

• Severe droughts have also badly affected crops in Cuba, Cambodia, Australia, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Morocco, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua

• According to UN climate scientists, global warming and higher temperatures have caused the moisture in the soil to evaporate, leaving valuable crop-growing land dry.

Economic Growth in Developing Countries

• Economic growth in developing countries such as China has resulted in a growing middle-class who can afford and desire the standard of living enjoyed by many people in developed countries such as the USA, Norway, Canada, etc.

• This change of standard of living also involves changing your food habits

• In China the consumption of meat has increased among people who have benefited from the recent economic growth in the country

• Members of the growing Chinese middle class can now afford to buy and eat larger amounts of meat than earlier

• However, the raising of livestock such as cattle requires much more land and produces far less food than if the area has been used to grow rice, grain, or maize

• Therefore, ironically, if economic growth in developing countries continues and the demand for meat increases worldwide, this might worsen the food shortage in the world as vast areas of land and farmland might be converted into pastures for livestock, producing food that millions of people in poor countries who do not take part in the economic growth cannot afford to buy.

Meat Consumption in China

2009 - The Global Food Crisis IFood shortage

• 12 February 2009 – The output of global cereal has been reduced

since 2008 (FAO)

• Southern Africa – A smaller maize crop because of dry weather

• Asia– A smaller wheat crop in China and India

because of severe drought and precipitation

High prices persist in many poor countries

• Despite the decline in international prices in the second half of 2008, food prices remain very high in several developing countries

• This affects access to food among low-income population groups

• In Southern Africa and Central America, prices of main food commodities have continued to rise or have not decreased in recent months

2009 – Global Food Crisis• Western and Eastern African countries

– Prices have fallen significantly since 2008 – But now they are increasing again– Prices on important staples such as imported

rice and wheat are still on the increase. – Prices of rice and wheat remain high in

several poor countries in Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

• 32 countries in crisis– Food crises persist in 32 countries around the

world. – The food situation is especially severe in the Gaza

Strip as a result of the recent conflict (FAO)– In Eastern Africa

• more than 18 million people face serious food insecurity due either to conflict, unrest, adverse weather or a combined effect

– In Kenya, Somalia and Zimbabwe, the food situation is very serious due to drought-reduced crops, civil insecurity and/or economic crises

Food Prices 2007-2009

Future Prospects• According to experts it is possible for

the world to feed itself but it depends on how we are growing food

• Maybe we, here in Norway, might have to reconsider our dependency on our import of staple food such as grain and consider growing our own food to a much greater extent than we do today

• Perhaps we even might have to use our well-trimmed gardens and lawns to grow potatoes and other vegetables, as people did in this country during WWII

• Who knows?

By Nina Sandström Angelsen

Selbu videregående skole