The Global Food Crisis: comparison shopping
Patricia July 5th, 2008
I came across an interesting article in the New York Times on Tuesday titled a Plea for Aid to Avert Starvation
Warning that rising food and oil prices pose a crisis for the world’s poor, Robert B. Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, is calling on President Bush and other leaders convening in Japan next week in an economic summit meeting to make new aid commitments to avert starvation and instability in dozens of countries.
“What we are witnessing is not a natural disaster — a silent tsunami or a perfect storm,” Mr. Zoellick said in a letter sent Tuesday evening to the major leaders of the West. “It is a man-made catastrophe, and as such must be fixed by people.”Mr. Zoellick’s letter, obtained by The New York Times, came with a lengthy study of the impact of rising prices for food, fuel and commodities on the world’s poor. He sent the letter as Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda prepares to host Mr. Bush and six other world leaders in the Group of 8 economic summit meeting on the northern island of Hokkaido.
In recent weeks, the United States and some other countries have stepped up their pledges to get food to the poor in the 50 hardest-hit countries. But Mr. Zoellick said in his letter that the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Food Program had short-term needs of $10 billion.
Bank officials said that the world faced a shortfall in aid, but that pledges of financing had not been channeled into a central place and the size of the shortfall was not clear. “This is a test of the global system to help the most vulnerable, and it cannot afford to fail,” Mr. Zoellick said.Separately, the International Monetary Fund released a report on Tuesday describing dire effects on the people and economies of developing countries if food and fuel prices stay high. The analysis shows “that some countries really are at a tipping point — if food prices rise further and oil prices stay the same, some governments will no longer be able to feed their people and at the same time maintain stability in their economies,” said Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the fund.
Seven countries have already responded to high prices by borrowing at deep discounts from a special I.M.F. program for countries with very low income.
Burkina Faso reached a loan agreement in January; Mali and Niger in Africa and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia obtained loans in late May; and Benin, the Central African Republic and Haiti did so last month.
Mr. Zoellick’s letter calculates that, for the world’s 41 poorest countries, the combined impact of high food, fuel and other commodities is a “negative shock” to their economies, reducing gross domestic product by between 3 and 10 percent, causing “broken lives and stunted potential” for millions.The letter says the trust funds and aid funds set up by the world’s richest countries are on the verge of running out of grant money to finance school feeding, mother and child nutrition programs and food-for-work programs.
For me, the stark reality of the “broken lives and stunted potential” for millions around the planet is shown by a stunning series of photographs from a blog posting called The Truth: An Interesting Comparison that someone forwarded to me recently. This shows the food bought to feed one family in a variety of countries around the world. Take a moment to view the photographs below. Then consider, what price your next meal?
GERMANY:
The Melander family of Bargteheide - 2 adults, 2 teenagers
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07
UNITED STATES:
The Revis family of North Carolina - 2 adults, 2 teenagers
Food expenditure for one week: $341.98
JAPAN:
The Ukita family of Kodaira City - 2 adults, 2 teenagers
Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen or $317.25
ITALY:
The Manzo family of Sicily - 2 adults, 3 kids
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11
MEXICO:
The Casales family of Cuernavaca - 2 adults, 3 kids
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09
POLAND:
The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna - 4 adults, 1 teenager
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27
EGYPT:
The Ahmed family of Cairo - 7 adults, 5 kids
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
ECUADOR:
The Ayme family of Tingo - 4 adults, 5 teenagers
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55
BHUTAN:
The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village - 7 adults, 6 kids
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
CHAD:
The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp - 3 adults, 3 kids
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23
