The Food Crisis

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD CRISIS Food crisis is low stocks of primary commodities, together with large jumps in the price of final food products. Over the last two years there has been a rapid increase in the world prices , causing political and economical instability and social unrest in both poor and developed nations. Almost all basic foods such as rice, wheat, maize, soya beans, edible oils etc. has increased so much which has been leading to high incidence of hunger and malnutrition around the world . This is a serious threat to the world economy, where nearly every region of the world has experienced drastic food price inflation, creating a global food crisis which is a much bigger deal than the subprime meltdown for most people in the world Rising food prices have pushed 100m people into absolute poverty, according to the estimation made by the World Bank. More than 73 million people in 78 countries that depend on food handouts from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are facing reduced rations this year. According to WFP (official) “the increasing scarcity of food is the biggest crisis looming for the world'', At the same time, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization have warned that rising prices have triggered a food crisis in 36 countries, all of which will need extra help. The inflation has been driven by double-digit price hikes for almost every basic foodstuff over the past 12 months. Dairy products are as much as 200% more expensive since last year in some countries. Maize prices hit a 10-year high in February. wheat has increased by 50%, rice by 16% and poultry nearly by 10%. Rising food prices have emerged as a top political issue in many countries of the world. Some places have already prompted a string of food protests around the world, with riots in Mexico, Egypt, Haiti Philippine, Bangladesh, Argentine, Indonesia and disputes over food rationing in West Bengal and protests over grain prices in Senegal, Mauritania and Sub-Saharan Africa. In Yemen, children have marched to highlight their hunger, while in London hundreds of pig farmers protested outside Downing Street. But now the question arises here that from where food crisis has got its root? Rising fuel costs, erratic weather patterns, and the conversion of land to grow crops for biofuels have been the major factors. Rising incomes in poorer countries have also increased food demand in recent years, diminishing global reserves. To protect their citizens, some food exporting countries like India, Brazil, and Vietnam Egypt have now limited what they send abroad. And aid groups can't provide as much as they used to do which has been the response of financial crisis they are facing. The biggest concern may be that these changes are not temporary, since they result largely from fundamental shifts in the global economy and environment. 1

CAUSES OF FOOD CRISIS: Several factors contributed to the rising food price. Analysts attributed the price rises to a perfect storm of poor harvests in various parts of the world, increasing biofuel usage, growing consumer demand in Asia, oil price rises, lower food reserves, as well as the US Federal Reserve decreasing interest rates so that money is no longer a means to preserve wealth over the long term (people invest in food commodities which causes an increase in demand and therefore price). There are some major factors which are contributing to the recent situation as the first one is the

Production of food based biofuel One systemic cause for the price rise is held to be the diversion of food crops (maize in particular) for making first-generation biofuels. An estimated 100 million tones of grain per year are being redirected from food to fuel. (Total worldwide grain production for 2007 was just over 2000 million tones). As farmers devoted larger parts of their crops to fuel production than in previous years, land and resources available for food production were reduced correspondingly. Agricultural staples such as corn and soybeans are increasingly used to produce biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel, respectively, rather than food. As we know that US is one of the world’s largest exporter of corn and grows about 40% of the world's corn. But now the US farmers distorted the world market for cereals by growing 14m tones for ethanol for vehicles. This took millions of hectares of land out of food production and nearly doubled the price of maize, leaving only six million tons to cover the world's growing food needs .The United States has ramped up its food-based biofuel production in an effort to end its dependence on foreign oil and combat global warming. According to the White House, ethanol production has quadrupled from 1.6 billion gallons in 2000 to 6.4 billion gallons in 2007. And the increased production of ethanol comes primarily from corn. This has resulted in less food available for human consumption, especially in developing and least developed countries, where a family's daily allowances for food purchases are extremely limited. The crisis can be seen, in a sense, to dichotomize rich and poor nations, since, for example, filling a tank of an average car with biofuel, amounts to as much maize (Africa's principal food staple) as an African person consumes in an entire year. Brazil, the world's second largest producer of ethanol after the U.S., is considered to have the world's first sustainable biofuels economy. It became energy independent in 2006 in

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part by replacing 40 percent of its gas with biofuels and its government claims Brazil's sugar cane based ethanol industry has not contributed to the 2008 food crises. A World Bank policy research working paper released in July 2008 concluded that "...large increases in biofuels production in the United States and Europe are the main reason behind the steep rise in global food prices", and also stated that "Brazil's sugarbased ethanol did not push food prices appreciably higher and the rise in food prices caused by biofuels to be 75%.

Biofuel subsidies in the US and the EU The World Bank lists the effect of biofuels as an important contributor to higher food prices. The FAO/ECMB has reported that world land usage for agriculture has declined since the 1980s, and subsidies outside the United States and EU have dropped since the year 2004, leaving supply vulnerable when the United States began converting agricultural commodities to biofuels. In the United States, government subsidies for ethanol production have prompted many farmers to switch to production for biofuel. As a result, 23 percent of United States maize crops were being used for ethanol in 2006-2007. World Bank policy research working paper states that increased production of biofuels in the US and EU were supported by subsidies and tariffs on imports, and considers that without these policies, price increases would have been smaller. This research also concluded that Brazil's sugar cane based ethanol has not raised sugar prices significantly, and suggest to remove tariffs on ethanol imports by both the US and EU, to allow more efficient producers such as Brazil and other developing countries to produce ethanol profitably for export to meet the mandates in the EU and the US.

Rapid Rise in the Petroleum Price Energy costs affect all levels of the food production sector. Recent record crude oil prices in excess of $110 per barrel affect costs throughout the marketing chain.1 Producers spend more for fertilizer (for which natural gas is a major input), crop drying, and transportation which leads to raising production costs. At the processing, wholesale, and retail levels, the cost of transportation and operating packing houses, manufacturing plants and retail stores has increased as a result some of these costs are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. In addition, high petroleum prices increase the competitiveness of Ethanol, further boosting demand for corn. NOTE: 1. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a crude oil price traded at Cushing, OK, reached $110 per barrel for the first time on March 13, 2008.

Increased demand for more resource intensive food The head of the International Food Policy Research Institute, stated in 2008 that the gradual change in diet among newly prosperous populations is the most important factor

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underpinning the rise in global food prices. Where food utilization has increased sold in developing and developed nations. Higher incomes are boosting demand for processed foods and meat in countries such as India and China. These shifts require more feed grains and edible oil. Even in lowincome countries of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the vegetable oil share of diets has risen as processed food consumption rises. In China, consumption of meat, other livestock products, and fruits has increased. NOTE: U.S. Department of Agriculture, “World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates,” March 11, 2008. For more information, see CRS Report RS22824, High Wheat Prices: What are the Issues? Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, “Changing Diets in China’s Cities: Empirical Fact or Urban Legend?” by Fexgzia Dong and Frank H. Fuller, at [http://www.card.iastate.edu/ publications/synopsis.aspx?id=1031].

Crop shortfalls from natural disasters Several distinct weather- and climate-related incidents have caused disruptions in crop production. Perhaps the most influential is the extended drought in Australia, in particular the fertile Murray-Darling Basin, which produces large amounts of wheat and rice. The drought has caused the annual rice harvest to fall by as much as 98% from pre-drought levels. Australia is historically the second-largest exporter of wheat after the United States, producing up to 25 million tons in a good year, the vast majority for export.

Other events that have negatively affected the price of food include the 2006 heat wave in California's San Joaquin Valley, which killed large numbers of farm animals, and unseasonable 2008 rains in Kerala, India, which destroyed swathes of grain. The effects of Cyclone Nargis on Burma in May 2008 caused a spike in the price of rice. Burma has historically been a rice exporter. The FAO had previously estimated that Burma would export up to 600,000 tons of rice in 2008, but concerns were raised in the cyclone's aftermath that Burma may be forced to import rice for the first time, putting further upward pressure on global rice prices.

Rising prices From the beginning of 2007 to early 2008, the prices of some of the most basic international food commodities increased dramatically on international markets. The international market price of wheat doubled. Rice prices also reached ten year highs. In some nations, milk and meat prices more than doubled, while soy and maize prices have also increased dramatically.

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But the crisis was not a sudden one. Prices have been rising for quite some time now, and perhaps earlier warning signs were missed or ignored? According to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), record world prices for most staple foods have led to 18% food price inflation in China, 13% in Indonesia and Pakistan, and 10% or more in Latin America, Russia and India, In Mexico, corn meal prices are up 60 percent. In Pakistan, flour prices have doubled. China is facing rampant food price inflation, some of the worst in decades.

Distorted global rice market Japan is forced to import more than 767,000 tons of rice annually from the United States, Thailand, and other countries due to WTO rules. This is despite the fact that Japan produces over 100% of domestic rice consumption. But he is not allowed to re-export this rice to other countries without approval. This rice is generally left to rot and then used for animal feed. Under pressure, the United States and Japan are poised to strike a deal to remove such restrictions. It is expected 1.5 million tones of high-grade American rice will enter the market soon.

World population growth Some people believe and point out the world population growth is the cause for food crisis. But according to the FAO, with record grain harvests in 2007, there is more than enough food in the world to feed everyone. In fact, over the last 20 years, food production has risen steadily at over 2.0% a year, while the rate of population growth has dropped to 1.14% a year. Population is not outstripping food supply.

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WORLDWIDE IMPACT OF FOOD CRISIS: The most affected by the current global food crisis are the poor, particularly in developing countries.

Subcontinent of Africa: The price rises affected parts of Africa particularly Burkina Faso,[90] Cameroon, Senegal, Mauritania, Cote d'Ivoire,[91] Egypt[92] and Morocco seeing protests and riots in late 2007 and early 2008 over the unavailability of basic food staples. World Vision has identified 10African countries in urgent need of food aid, including Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Niger and Zimbabwe. More than 70 percent of rural people in sub-Saharan Africa are involved in subsistence agriculture, which depends mostly on rainfall. The frequent droughts currently plaguing the continent are therefore contributing to declining crop productivity that is leading to irreversible vulnerability. Areas hit hard by flooding earlier this year, such as southern Zambia, are reporting a poor harvest and households are expected to run out of food stock from their own production much sooner than in a normal year. ZIMBABWE: In Zimbabwe more than five million people facing severe food shortages. "Millions of Zimbabweans have already run out of food or are surviving on just one meal a day and the crisis is going to get much worse in the coming months. Zimbabweans from middle social income categories, such as teachers, who normally have not sought food assistance, are now gathering at food distribution points at several locations in the country to register for the WFP's vulnerable group feeding program. ETHIOPIA: Families hit hard by food crisis in Ethiopia. Approximately 75,000 Ethiopian children have been directly affected by the drought and are at risk of severe acute malnutrition, while 4.6 million people throughout the country are receiving emergency food aid. In Ethiopia, rations of beans and oil have been reduced and 6.4 million people are projected to need food aid in November 2008. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the situation has worsened due to a shortage of emergency resources including ready-to-use therapeutic food, emergency relief food and other critical supplies

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SOMALIA Witnesses and officials in Somalia said thousands of angry Somalis rioted on May 5, 2008 over rising food prices. Drought, poor harvests and the continuing rises in food prices are the main factors driving a worsening humanitarian situation. CAMEROON Cameroon, the world's fourth largest cocoa producer, saw large scale rioting in late February 2008, in protest against inflating food and fuel prices, and the government response to the protests was a reduction in import taxes on foods including rice, flour, and fish.

Some countries of USA: MEXICO In January of 2007 tens of thousands of Mexicans marched in the streets to protest a leap of 50 percent in the price of corn tortillas. Although many analysts have attributed the sudden spike to a rise in international prices due to demand for ethanol production, the root cause is far more complex and predates the biofuels boom. PANAMA In Panama, in response to higher rice prices the government began buying rice at the high market price and selling rice to the public at a lower subsidized price at food kiosks. This rice is known as El Compita and is bought by using tax money. EUROPE: Less vulnerable to food price fluctuations than emerging nations, but food prices across Europe have nonetheless increased. In Britain wholesale prices of food have increased by 7.4 per cent over the past 12 months, roughly three times the headline rate of inflation. According to the government's own statistics grocery bills have gone up by an average of £750 over the same period, the equivalent of a 12 per cent rise. HAITI (an Island in Caribbean Sea): On April 12, 2008, the Haitian Senate voted to dismiss Prime Minister after violent food riots hit the country. Prices for food items such as rice, beans, fruit and condensed milk have gone up 50 percent in Haiti since late 2007. But now the government is attempting to restore order by subsidizing a 15 percent reduction in the price of rice.

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Subcontinent of Asia: International agencies and independent experts agree that a large number of people for whom steep food prices spell disaster live in South Asia. The rise in prices affects consumers differently across Asia. For the wealthiest in Singapore, Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur, food inflation can engender a political backlash, but it is not a life-or-death problem. But for the poorest across Asia, rising prices mean the prospect of increasing rates of malnutrition as over 500 million people in Asia are living on US$1 per day or less, and spend as much as 70 percent of their income on food. EGYPT Up to 50 million Egyptians rely on subsidized bread and this year Cairo has estimated it will cost $2.5bn. But with the price of wheat rocketing in the past year there are fears the country has plunged into a "bread crisis

PAKISTAN Up to 85% of Pakistanis live on less than US$ 2 per-day. Rising wheat and flour prices, have an enormous impact on the poor, who have no spare cash to cover the extra burden, as a result the government banned its exports. The number of people who are food insecure in Pakistan has risen by 28% to 77 million, according to a recent report by the World food Programme. The report suggests that Pakistan is facing a “bigcrisis” due to the growing gap between the increase in prices and increase in wages resulting in the diminished purchasing power of the poor by almost 50%.

BANGLADESH 10,000 workers rioted close to the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, smashing cars and buses and vandalizing factories in anger at high food prices and low wages. Ironically, the country achieved food self-sufficiency in 2002, but food prices increased drastically due to the reliance of agriculture on oil and fossil fuels.The price of rice, the core of the Bangladeshi diet, has jumped by more than 30%. Lack of domestic rice due to major floods and a devastating cyclone last year along with the skyrocketing global prices of rice have pushed Bangladesh to the verge of a severe food crisis.

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MAYANMER Myanmar which used to be the world's top rice has produced enough rice to feed itself until now. Rice exports dropped over four decades from nearly 4 million tons to only about 40,000 tons last year. The world was counting on Myanmar to produce and export 600,000 tons of rice this year, most of which would go to rice-starved Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. But on 3 May 2008 Cyclone Nargis stripped Myanmar's rice-growing districts; ruining large areas with salt water and this will take years to recover. As we can see in pic PHILLIPINE Philippine which is the world's largest rice importer, are among the worst off in the region. Even before the spike in food prices this year, poverty and food insecurity were on the rise. According to a government report released in March, the number of people who do not have enough income to meet basic food needs in Philippines raised to 12.2 million in 2006 from 10.8 million three years earlier, an increase of about 13 percent. THAILAND Bad weather and increased consumption have caused rice supplies to shrink, Even in Thailand, which produces 10 million more tons of rice than it consumes and is the world's largest rice exporter. As the price of rice rose to $1,000 a ton and experts warned that it will continue to rise. This is because of the massive demand from the Philippines which is struggling to secure supplies after India and several other producers halted exports.

IMPACT OF FOOD CRISIS IN AFGHANISTAN: According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Afghanistan is among 40 countries in the world which face "unparalleled hikes in food prices resulting from low food stocks, floods and droughts linked to climate change, high oil prices and rising demand for bio-fuels" Rising food prices and lack of rain have resulted in around 450,000 urban and rural Afghan households unable to purchase food, with many likely to run out of stocks within a month. Wheat prices in Afghanistan have risen by an average of 60 percent over the last year (2007) with certain areas seeing a rise of up to 80 %the U.N. World Food Programme

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(WFP) said that there was little chance prices would come down. The country due to its own weak milling industry import wheat and flour from Pakistan but as Pakistan started to control soaring food prices in its country, he banned the export of flour and wheat to Afghanistan which badly affected Afghanistan. Wheat production has decreased 36% from 2007 to 2008. The FAO says that despite the high price of wheat, the profits from planting opium poppies are still much higher, , so there is little immediate incentive for farmers to switch crops According to Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre severe drought and food shortages this year have caused 6500 Afghans to leave their villages in north and west to find work and aid. Drought has caused the failure of crops in these areas even in irrigated sections the yield is minimal due to low availability of water in rivers and canals, affecting 18,152 families in the 73 villages The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) say that three out of 10 Afghans suffer from chronic food insecurity, which badly affects the health and well-being of the estimated 27-million nation. Some provinces are particularly food insecure because of factors such as high altitude and long winters, lack of water, or remoteness and difficulties of access

The Impact of food crisis in Laos: The unique flow in global food prices is making life even more difficult for residents of impoverished Laos, where one provincial official is calling on the central government to provide food aid and step up irrigation efforts. Consumer prices are escalating, according to statisticians at the Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment, and officials and residents say the landlocked country—one of the world’s poorest—has been hit hard by skyrocketing food costs. I would like to name 3 provinces which are facing food crisis

o The remote, southeastern province of Xekong “faces rice shortages regularly because it is a mountainous region, but now the problem is getting bigger. Xekong province lacks valleys and has faced periodic drought, so its rice yield last year also fell short, he said. Xekong ranks among one of the poorest provinces in Laos, with a poorly developed infrastructure and terrain more suited to growing timber and fruit than to growing rice. Rice millers’ association spokesman Somphone Chandy said prices appeared set to continue rising because the cost of fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation has also surged. o In the southern province of Savannakhet, people are feeling the price pinch, with

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no relief in sight. “The price of rice and the price of food have shifted, but nobody has yet complained or called for help…The cost of living has increased, and people face hardship in paying for food.” o Remote, mountainous Phongsali province in the north of the country brings food from Oudomxai and Luang Namtha provinces—It lacks flat farming land and can’t produced to feed Phongsali’s 16,000 mostly rural residents. The deputy head of the Phongsali Provincial industry and trade office, said. “In our area we still haven't used fertilizer, so the price of fertilizer went up and we haven't bounced back. “We cannot increase the size of our fields, because there is very little flat land,” he added.

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Is India, the world's second most populous country, facing a food crisis? To be sure, India has not yet experienced riots over rising food price that have worse hit other countries. But what worrying everybody is that the current rise in inflation is driven by high food prices, as in the capital Delhi milk cost 11% more than last year, edible oil prices have climbed by whopping 40% over the same period (said by Indian economy analyst Paranjoy Thakurta).More crucially rice price have risen by 20% an prices of certain lentils by 18%.Rice and lentils comprise the staple diet for many Indian’s. As we know that six years ago the stocks were at record levels but stocks have come down over the past three years because of low production and exports. There are 3 factors which contribute to the food price rise as 1. Increase in price of cereals 2. climate change 3. Biofuels vs food security

1. Increase in price of cereals: If we see the situation in India, there is enough food in the nation but millions are starving and the price rise has forced many more millions to cut on their food consumption.At the same time we are importing wheat from U.S. which is almost double the price we have given to our farmers. Indias’s food problems are of its own making.The counry having a population of more than 112 crore, its economy has been growing mainly confined to manufacturing industries and the burgeoning services sector. Agriculture on the other hand has grown by bearly 2.5% and the service sector that includes the fast growing computer software and business process out sourcing industries constitutes over 55% GDP with the remainder being taken up by industry. This makes clear that reforms of services sector, financial sector and all had happened but not yet reforms of the agriculture sector on which 65% of Indian population depends. Indian farmers are particularly vulnerable since 60% of the countries total cropped area is not irrigated; there is low rise in farm productivity and unremunerative prices for cultivators, poor food storage facilities resulting in high levels of wastage. Fragmentation of land holdings and a fall in public investment in rural areas are also to blame.

2. Climate Change: The most serious long term challenge facing Indian agriculture is global warming and climate change. Climate change could cause irreversible damage to land and water ecosystems and lead to loss of production potential. Heavy and variable precipitation

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,heat waves ,cyclones, droughts and floods likely to be more frequent and intense, resulting in greater economic shocks. It is clear that India will suffer a major set back in wheat production as global warming increases. Wheat productivity which is critically dependent on cold night temperatures will suffer as temperature rises

3. Biofuels vs. food security: According to convener of Gene Campaign, India has begun biofuel programs and its draft policy progress to start with a blending proportion of 5% biofuel with 95% petroleum by 2012. 10% by 2017 and over 10% after 2017 which has made people to start worrying as it may bring food crisis in India too.

Conclusion: According to Dr K K Barman an Indian economic teacher says that the annual rate of inflation (estimated on a month to month basis) shows that food price inflation in international markets in recent months has crossed 40% where as in India it has remained below 8%. Thus it seems that the domestic food prices have not been affected by the abnormal increase in international prices which were witnessed after mid 2007. This was perhaps due to • An increase of food grain production in two consecutive years 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 due to favorable condition. • Timely and affective government intervention in domestic market. • Tightening of monetary policies by RBI • Banning on export of wheat and nonbasmati variety of rice to prevent domestic shortage of food. However the biggest factor that prevented a sharp rise in food prices in India is hat fertilizer prices are not increased in response to the increase in international prices. According to D.P. Singh (President of all India exports association) “our production has not declined till now and we hardly produce any biofuel and our percapita meat consumption is below one kg which is one of the lowest in world. We are living hand to mouth as our total consumption is more or less equal to our output and stocks.

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HOW TO FIGHT AND COPE UP WITH THE CURRENT WORLD WIDE ISSUE: In order to save people from this significant issue which has pushed many countries into the world of hunger, following top points are to be considered. 1. Take a Pause on Biofuels Producing fuel from crops—corn in the united States and rapeseed, palm, and soy oil in Europe—accounts for be

tween one quarter and one third of the spike in global commodity prices, says the International Food Policy Research Institute. Governments have heavily subsidized the industry as an energy alternative, but now one U.N. food official labels these policies "criminal" and has called for a five-year biofuels production suspension. Agricultural economist Lester Brown, founder of the Earth Policy Institute and an outspoken ethanol policy critic, suggests a solution familiar to farmers: Use subsidies to steer production.” Do with ethanol distillers which have been done with grain producers for decades," says Brown. "If we want them to produce less grain, we would say that in order to be eligible for support price, you should have to cut back your acreage 15 percent this year, and farmers did that. They understood the USDA was trying to balance world supply and demand. You could do the same thing with ethanol distilleries." Brown says the government could modify policy so that the blenders of ethanol collect the subsidy only if they reduce production. Government support of the biofuels research and development should continue, but with focus shifting swiftly away from food crops toward cellulosics, like prairie grasses, wood chips, and garbage. He says, "We're the only country who can now do something in the short term to restore some semblance of stability to the world food economy." 2. Improve Food Aid: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have proposed a series of major changes in the way international food aid is managed and delivered. In the latest edition of its flagship annual report, The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA), FAO recommended an end to the widespread practice of “tying” food aid

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Emphasizing the critical importance of sound food aid management, the report also suggested that, wherever possible, aid be provided in the form of cash or food coupons rather than food aid shipments because mostly the transportation cost becomes higher than the amount of food aid and is not reaching beneficiaries in donor countries. In addition aid can disrupt local markets and undermine the resilience of local food systems when it arrives at the wrong time or reaches the wrong people. In contrast with aid in kind, “cash-based transfers or food vouchers can stimulate local production, strengthen local food systems and empower recipients in ways that traditional food aid cannot,” and it is suggested to eliminate programme, or government-to-government food aid, which, by definition, is not specifically targeted to needy groups Further, for the improvement and betterment of food aid the report recommended using local and regional food-aid procurement where appropriate, as this can be of great benefit to agricultural development in many low-income developing countries

3. Produce Higher Yields History repeatedly has shown that better farming techniques can help alleviate shortages.A group of philanthropists led by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has, along with the World Bank, begun investing hundreds of millions of dollars in developing countries, particularly Africa. Their focus: training and empowering poor farmers and native researchers. Vouchers help local farmers buy fertilizer and increase production The Gates Foundation recently announced $306 million in grants to boost agricultural yields in the developing world, with nearly $165 million to replenish depleted soils in Africa. Says Rajiv Shah, director for agricultural development at the Gates Foundation: 4. Curb the Speculators European Union politicians are thinking about using an obscure treaty article to curb financial speculation, in an attempt to force down oil and food prices. Tom Buis, president of the national farmers union, calls it "the factor no one wants to talk about." The weak dollar has led to high commodity prices as pension, hedge, and index funds have bought oil, gold, and agricultural futures as a hedge against inflation. Although the U.S. farm industry relies on the commodity markets to manage its own risks, now it argues that change is needed—even curbing some of the same measures used to attract money to the market just a few years ago. "I think we have to make sure that policy is in place to prevent speculators from dominating the market," says Buis. Among the solutions he suggested for freezing the number of contracts speculators can hold, or place higher price limits on markets.

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Good weather, bumper harvests, a change in ethanol policy—any of these could take the heat off the market. Of course, another step that could do the trick would be unpopular on Wall Street: the Federal Reserve tightening U.S. monetary policy through higher interest rates.

5. Break Down Trade Barriers Politics often kicks into high gear in times of crisis. That's what happened when India, Egypt, and dozens of other countries dropped their tariffs and taxes on imported foodstuffs to get cheap food as fast as possible. Numerous countries, from Argentina to Russia, have rigid export barriers to try to shore up domestic food supply. India, for example, in March slapped minimum price levels on exports of nonbasmati rice, ramping up rice prices in neighboring Bangladesh. Ukraine lifted its export ban on grain at the end of last month. That may become a trend, predicts Dani Rodrik of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. "I think exporters will manage to bring those down." 6. Eat Less Meat Cutting down on carnivorism is a message that the world does not want to hear. Meat consumption is soaring globally. Since much of that meat is grown by feeding animals corn, the higher the corn price, the more expensive the meat It takes about 7 pounds of corn to produce 1 pound of beef, 6.5 pounds of corn to produce 1 pound of pork, and 2.6 pounds of corn to produce 1 pound of chicken, according to the USDA. Animal scientists are already working on ways to produce meat with less feed. One possible solution: DDGS, or dried distillers grain solubles. That is what's left over after corn is turned into ethanol. But it can be eaten only by cattle. "We need to be able to figure out how to be more feed-efficient," says Maynard Hogberg, animal science chair at Iowa State University.

These all will be possible if the world all together takes decisions and handle the problem. In June 2008 governments and world leaders agreed at an FAO High-Level Conference on World Food Security that "the international community needs to take urgent and coordinated action to combat the negative impacts of soaring food prices on the world's most vulnerable countries and populations.

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If aid is reduced, there could be another food crisis next year, despite the record 2008 cereal harvest which is now expected. The organization's latest report on crop prospects and the global food situation shows grain harvests are projected to increase 4.9 percent to a record 2,232 million metric tones The current global food crisis requires immediate action to feed people most at risk .The United States provides more than $1.5 billion in food aid annually to those in need -- with the majority of that aid going to Africa, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Gainor, who is deputy director of the department’s food assistance division in the Foreign Agricultural Service. This effort takes place effort through two development programs: the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program and the Food for Progress Program. Here are some of the organizations which help the needy people to overcome food crisis:

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World food program (WFP) is the United Nations frontline agency in the fight against global hunger where its innovative projects not only put food on the tables of the weakest and poorest: jobless mothers, school children, landless farmers and HIV orphans. They also help the hungry to secure food and an income by themselves With more than five million Zimbabweans facing severe food shortages the UN's World Food Programme is appealing for US$140 million to provide vital relief rations in year 2008 . If the appeal falls short, FP warns it will run out of food in January 2009 at the peak of the crisis. WFP regional director for East, Central and Southern Africa says "WFP can prevent this crisis from becoming a disaster but we need more donations and we need them now.The United States was the largest donor to WFP's operations in Zimbabwe in 2008, giving US$105 million, followed by the UK, which donated $18 million, and Australia with $14 millionIn Sudan, the WFP will take over a food support program to 130,000 internally displaced people in Gereida, South Darfur, by the end of the year, at the request of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has been operating the program.

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World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations responsible for providing finance and advice countries for the purpose of economic development and eliminating poverty. In May 2008, the World Bank Group created a new $1.2 billion rapid financing facility - the Global Food Response Program - to speed assistance to the neediest countries. As of October 9 2008, the program had approved and begun disbursing $193 million in 20 countries, including Somalia and southern Sudan. One project totaling $7 million is pending approval, according to a statement by the bank, while an additional $651 million is being earmarked for programs in 11 countries.

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The money is used to feed poor children and other vulnerable groups, provide for nutritional supplements to pregnant women, lactating mothers, infants and small children, to meet additional expenses of food imports or to buy seeds for the new season.

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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation work to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. On 14th August 2008 this foundation has announced a $17.6 million package of grants to help people most affected by the global food crisis and support small-scale farmers in developing countries. The largest grant of $10 million to the World Food Programme (WFP)—, $2.9 million to Catholic Relief Services, $2.7 million Mercy Corps and $2 million Oxfam America. These grants will support efforts that include providing food for those most in need; helping families earn money for food through employment opportunities or cash-for-work programs; and helping farmers continue and improve their production in times of crisis.

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United States agency for international development (USAID) is the United States federal government organization responsible for most non-military foreign aid. USAID has provided 88% of the U.S international food aid and 39% of all global food aid for the current food crisis. SAID will also begin more than 20 new multi-year assistance programs in 10 developing countries including Afghanistan, the democratic republic of Congo, Ethiopia , Mali and Niger which will work on improvement of agriculture and natural resource management, health and household nutrition, education and microenterprise.

Ending with the opinion of group: Food is a human right. No doubt that food aid has saved and will save millions of lives and performs other valuable functions but what is highly regarded is that government of each country should not vastly depend on other countries but instead should stand on their feet and should feel the responsibility to see that their people are well fed. (And must come from this situation to that situation

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References: http://www.gatesfoundation.org . http://en.wikipedia.org http://www.iht.com http://www.wfp.com http://www.sundayherald.com http://www.bbcnews.com http://www.guardian.com http://www.reuters.com http://southasia.oneworld.net http://usnews.com

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