FOOD FOR THE WORLD

There are pictures from around the world.

In Myanmar, exporter of high quality Burmese Rice and Cereals – Crowds of survivors of the Cyclone looking for handouts and aid.

Darfur – a continuing saga in inhumanity, cruelty, Poverty and food shortage.

In the past decade we have seen cruel photos from Somalia, Ethiopia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and for a short time in the aftermath of the Boxing Day Tsunami form parts of Asia – Men, Women and children clamouring for food and water, just enough to survive.

While President Bush blames middle class Indians for the increase in food prices and for the shortage of food around the world, Poverty and Food shortage are not a recent phenomenon. It had been there for a long time.

In Iraq food shortage started to a smaller extent with the UN sanctions against Saddam and with the American occupation it became a major problem caused by shortages and increased cost.

When we set aside the misery of food shortages and look into the causes and solutions, we definitely can do something to alleviate the problem.

More than half of the world consumes Rice as the main food grain, while the other main food grain is wheat. With corn, millets and maize the rest of the world get their food requirements. There are wise men who fault the bio-fuel industry for causing shortage of food and increase in price. While there are experts like Mr. Bush who always try to find some one else as the cause for the world’s misery.

Of the major food producing nations, the USA and Canada, South America and the EU account for a large amount of food grain production. At the same time, bulk of the corn and other cereals produced are used to in beef production. It is said the cereals and grains used in the beef production is used to feed the population directly 5 times more people would get their daily bread.

There is definitely a case for a certain amount of re-distribution of the grain and cereals from this industry. The ill effects of red meat in the health of people is well documented. Adequate awareness of these factors can definitely help to divert large amount of food grain for human consumption.

The other cause for the shortage is said to be the bio-fuel industry. This assumption is cannot be accepted in total. The need for bio-fuel is not only a reduction in harmful green house gases, but also to reduce the dependency of petroleum reserves, and to go for replaceable sources of energy. Of the bio fuel it is a small portion that is made from cereals – mainly corn as ethanol based bio-gasoline. Bio diesel is mainly produced out of other vegetable oils like Palm Oil, Soya Oil and Rape Seed oil, which do not quality directly as food grains and cereals.

That leaves the reason for shortage and price increase to two fundamental factors – lower production in real terms and in per capita terms, and increase in consumption.

In many countries the price of food grains are controlled, price being set by the Government. This leads to a situation where while the general population get their food at lower prices, the farmers who grow the crops are left in the lurch by inability to meet their production costs. While millions of Dollars and Euros are being pumped into agricultural sector as subsidies by the rich countries – the G8 – to support wine production and corn production, the production of food grains in the developing countries are not subsidised to a large extent.

Where the farmers are left to their choice, most farmers over a period switch over to crops where they earn a better value for their efforts. With the current price of Pal m Oil and Soya oil, as compared to price of wheat and rice, farmers cannot be faulted for opting out to go for oil grains and oil yielding fruits.

On the one hand the population of the world has been growing at an increasing pace. While the rich nations and urban centres in developing nations are facing a lowering birth rate, the impoverished countries exhibit a tendency towards accelerated rate of birth. The rich are able to afford costlier food, but it is not so for the poorer multitudes. The incongruity seeps in. We see pockets of plenty and pockets of poverty in every society.

Those who can afford are , consuming as usual or more, and also adopting wasteful practices. Recently the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other national Health agencies in many countries are speaking loudly about the dangers of Obesity. Not only in the developed nations but also in countries like India and China, where the urban centres have a large proportion of affordable citizens, the rate of consumption has definitely gone up. In many parts of China where food was rationed a generation ago, not what they have is a problem of plenty. Walk by any restaurant at dinner time in any Chinese city – I am not talking only of Beijing, Shanghai or Tianjin – but the other cities like Dalian, Ningbo, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Qian, Chengdu, and so on – the quantity of food wasted is enormous.

The same level of wasteful practices occur in every part of the world – You can see it as you walk by any Macdonald’s restaurant in USA, or a Tandoori chicken and curry restaurant in England, as much as in a sea food restaurant in Taiwan or a pizzeria in Italy ,a Dhaba in Delhi or a Cafe in South Africa. Wasting of food is a global phenomenon.

It is said that in India, the wastage of food grains due to poor storage and transportation is between 25 and 30%. Given that India feeds a billion people a year, this amount of wastage is phenomenal. I am sure similar statistics abound in most countries. I am sure similar statistics are abound in every country around the world.

Though the consumption of food has gone up, more people are able to afford to eat well, and better than in the past, and even if the production of food grains has not moved up at the same rate, prevention of wastage in storage and transport and curtailing wasteful eating habits can lead to more food being available for more people.

When we sit at home and eat, we need to remind ourselves of the millions who have little to eat; those who go to bed with nothing to share to their children. Do we need a 9 course meal, when a simple and tasty meal can fulfil the purpose. Should we Live to Eat or Eat to Live.

If each one of us do our part, it will gather into a windfall of saved food for the Needy.