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insideBritannica
get inside: The Global Food Crisis
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Food prices around the world are increasing. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the global cost of food commodities has risen an average of 86 percent since 2006. Since 2007 the price of vegetable oils has increased by 97 percent, grains by 87 percent, dairy products by 58 percent, and rice by 46 percent. Prices are expected to continue increasing or to remain high through at least 2012. Go Inside Britannica to explore the causes and consequences of the global food crisis.
Devastation in Developing Countries
The global food crisis has devastated poor communities in developing countries, making millions of people permanently hungry, some to the point of starvation. Angry demonstrations have become common, and food riots have taken place in Haiti and in African countries such as Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Senegal.
Biofuels
Some attribute the food-price increases to the diversion of crops for the production of biofuels, especially ethanol.
Other Causes...
There are a number of additional likely causes for the significant rise in food cost. Rising oil prices have increased the costs of farming. Economic growth in developing countries such as China have increased the worldwide demand for food of all kinds, and recent droughts in Africa and Australia have reduced crop yields and deteriorated livestock.
Helping the Hungry
The global food crisis has increased the risk of famine in very poor countries. Foreign aid has played an important role in the world's response to the food crisis. Through it, capital, goods, or services from a country or international organization can be transferred for the benefit of the recipient country or its population. Aid can be economic, military, or emergency humanitarian (e.g., aid given following natural disasters).
Programs and institutions dedicated to alleviating the crisis include the following:
Food and Agriculture Organization - coordinates the efforts of governments and technical agencies in programs for developing agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and land and water resources.
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World Food Programme - aids victims of both natural and man-made disasters by collecting and transporting food to crisis areas.
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Oxfam International - this privately funded, international organization provides relief and development aid to impoverished or disaster-stricken communities worldwide.
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Watch and Learn More About the World's Food Crisis
Britannica Online has a variety of informative videos to help deepen your knowledge of the food crisis. Choose from topics such as sugarcane harvesting in Brazil, the harvesting of pineapple and macadamia nuts in Hawaii, the production of sugar in the Philippines, and more.
Just click here and browse through the VIDEOS tab in the MEDIA section of the page.
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The Food Crisis in Afghanistan: More Than Band-Aids are Needed
by Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai
Agriculture is the backbone of Afghanistan's economy. Eighty percent of the population is rural, and fifty percent live below the poverty line. The current food crisis has devastated Afghan families. Since March 2007, food prices have doubled. Land-rich Afghanistan has overtaken Iran to become...(read more)
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