Health challenges
G8 and the food crisis: the real solutions
Addressing the underlying causes of the food crisis: pointers for the G8
Authors:
Publisher:
Greenpeace International, 2008
Millions of people around the world are suffering food shortages, unaffordable food prices and hunger, primarily due to industrial farming, bad harvests related to climate change, unjust terms of trade and the rush for biofuels.
This brief argues that there is no single solution to the crisis. However, the G8 leaders at the Toyako, Japan summit from 7-9 July, need to step up emergency assistance to the 850 million people who are suffering from hunger, and address the underlying causes of the current food crisis by:
- increasing public investment in research and development on ecological and climate change-resilient farming
- stopping funding for genetically engineered (GE) crops and prohibit patents on seed
- phasing out the most toxic chemicals in agriculture and eliminating environmentally destructive agricultural subsidies
- protecting domestic food production through trade agreements
- dropping mandatory targets to increase the ratio of biofuels used in transport
In addition, other forces behind the food crisis are identified as speculation on commodities and a growing demand for meat which is diverting grain away from feeding people to feeding livestock.
In conclusion, it is argued that a fundamental change in farming practices and policies is needed to address soaring food prices, hunger and environmental disasters. A recent International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) report clearly states food security will neither be achieved through ever increasing amounts of chemical fertilisers or pesticides, nor through resorting to Genetic Engineering. The report aims to reflect a growing consensus among the global scientific community and many governments that industrial, energy-intensive and toxic agriculture is a failed concept of the past. Small-scale farmers and agro-ecological methods provide the way forward in ending the food crisis and meeting the needs of local communities.
