Famine/Water Crises

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Fresh water becoming more scarce...

Some scary water stats from an expert
April 22, 2008 - How much water does it take to make a pair of leather shoes? Eight-thousand liters.

That's from Hans Enggrob, head of innovation at the DHI Water Group, a research and consulting firm, speaking at the Nordic Green conference taking place this week at SRI International's offices here. It takes 2,000 liters to make a cotton T-shirt, 2,400 liters to make a hamburger, and 1,200 liters to produce a gallon of ethanol, he said. But beer drinkers should rejoice. It only takes 75 liters for a glass of beer and 140 liters for a cup of coffee, he added. Much of the water in these products goes toward irrigating crops used to make these products.

Enggrob, like many others, points out that the world is facing a pending water crisis. Several start-ups concentrating on water purification and desalination have received funding in recent years and large giants such as General Motors have put more emphasis on water. Still, demand is growing faster than supply. China, Australia, and several African nations are already grappling with water shortages. In the U.S., some believe Lake Mead could run dry by 2021.

In the middle of the 20th century, there was about 4,000 cubic meters of fresh water per person per year, Enggrob said. Now we're close, globally, to 1,000 cubic meters per person per year. One thousand cubic meters per person per year is defined as water scarcity, he said. Water stress is defined as having 1,700 cubic meters per person per year. Most countries also have to update their regulations and municipal water systems with regard to water reuse and purification. Singapore's NEWater, which constitutes part of the water coming out of the taps there, is actually reprocessed water from the sewer. Japan and Dubai make somewhat extensive use of gray water. But most jurisdictions haven't gone that far.

Purification is the bright spot in water. When oil is burned, the molecule is consumed, forcing humans to look for more. Water gets polluted but it can be cleaned. "We have pretty much the same amount of water that we had four billion years ago," said Paul Frederiksen, head of research at Grundfos, a Danish company specializing in energy-efficient pumps.

Some scary water stats from an expert | Green Tech blog - CNET News.com

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Food prices have risen an average 27% over last three years...

Aid agency warns of ‘silent tsunami’ of hunger
Tues., April. 22, 2008 - World Bank says food prices have risen 83 percent in three years

Ration cards. Genetically modified crops. The end of pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap supermarkets. These possible solutions to the first global food crisis since World War II — which the World Food Program says already threatens 20 million of the poorest children — are complex and controversial. And they may not even solve the problem as demand continues to soar.

A "silent tsunami" of hunger is sweeping the world's most desperate nations, said Josette Sheeran, the WFP's executive director, speaking Tuesday at a London summit on the crisis. The skyrocketing cost of food staples, stoked by rising fuel prices, unpredictable weather and demand from India and China, has already sparked sometimes violent protests across the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.

The price of rice has more than doubled in the last five weeks, she said. The World Bank estimates food prices have risen by 83 percent in three years. "What we are seeing now is affecting more people on every continent," Sheeran told a news conference.

Reversing progress against poverty

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Is the World Running Out of Food?...

Can the Earth Provide Enough Food for 9 Billion People?
April 26, 2008 - That's How Many are Expected to Inhabit the World by 2050. Experts Worry Over Looming Food Shortages.

The world is an odd place. A tight global food situation with record-high grain prices presents the possibility of increasing malnutrition, perhaps famine, in parts of Africa and South Asia. Yet an estimated 1.6 billion adults, about a quarter of the world's 6.7 billion people, are overweight, some of them obese. As a result, chubby Americans are spending roughly $1 billion a year to lose a few pounds with special diets, treadmills, etc., while hundreds of millions in poor nations are scrambling to buy enough food to add a little weight. "You couldn't write any stranger fiction," says Joseph Chamie, former head of the United Nation's Population Division.

The possibility of a world food shortage is causing more and more concern. "It's likely to get worse in coming years," reckons Mr. Chamie, now research director at the Center for Migration Studies, a New York think tank. His fear is partly based on the fact that the world's population is growing by about 78 million people a year, with projections of an additional 2.5 billion people by 2050 – a generation away. "The most significant event of the 20th and 21st century is the growth of world population," Chamie says. "It has affected every life form on this planet."

There have been a few dramatic spikes in food prices in the past century. For instance, in 1972 the Soviet Union, anticipating a domestic crop failure, quietly cornered available grain supplies in the world, doubling prices of wheat, rice, and corn. Weather-related events have pushed up food prices at other times. But these events were temporary. Using surplus stocks, emergency measures eased food shortages in some poor nations. A new crop restored an adequate supply.

More ABC News: Is the World Running Out of Food?

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UN sets up food task force...

UN to set up task force to tackle global food crisis
April 29, 2008 - UN to set up task force headed by secretary-general to tackle global food crisis

The United Nations will establish a top-level task force to tackle food shortages and escalating prices that threaten to touch off a "cascade of related crises" around the world, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday. Ban, who will lead the task force, said the group agreed on a series of measures for the medium and long term, with its first priority to meet the $755 million shortfall in funding for the World Food Program.

"Without full funding of these emergency requirements we risk again the specter of widespread hunger, malnutrition and social unrest on an unprecedented scale," he told reporters in the Swiss capital, Bern, where the U.N. agency chiefs have been meeting.

Even if the shortfall is met, more money probably will be needed, he said. Later, in a speech at the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva, Ban said high food prices "could touch off a cascade of related crises — affecting trade, economic growth, social progress and even political security around the world." The price increases have been dramatic, he said. "The price of rice in particular has gone from $400 a ton some weeks ago to more than $1,000 today." Ban blamed the escalating prices on a range of factors — high oil prices, growing demand, bad trade policies, bad weather, panic buying and speculation, as well as, "the new craze of biofuels derived from food products."

"In addition to increasing food prices, we see at the same time farmers in developing countries planting less, producing less, due to the escalating cost of fertilizer and energy," he said. "We must make every effort to support those farmers so that in the coming year we do not see even more severe food shortages." Ban suggested that efforts to ensure longer-term food supplies should focus on Africa. African countries could double their food production over a very few years for "a relatively modest" $8 billion to $10 billion annually, he said.

More ABC News: U.N. To Set Up Food Crisis Task Force

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Food Scientists Say Stop Biofuels To Fight World Hunger
WASHINGTON, Apr. 29, 2008 - Scientists Say Stop Biofuels To Cut Food Prices, Fight Hunger; Bush Calls For More Ethanol

Some top international food scientists Tuesday recommended halting the use of food-based biofuels, such as ethanol, saying it would cut corn prices by 20 percent during a world food crisis. But even as the scientists were calling for a moratorium, President Bush urged the opposite. He declared the United States should increase ethanol use because of national energy security and high gas prices. The conflicting messages Tuesday highlighted the ongoing debate over food and fuel needs.

The three senior scientists with an international research consortium pushing a biofuel moratorium said nations need to rethink programs that divert food such as corn and soybeans into fuel, given the burgeoning worldwide food crisis. The group, CGIAR, is a global network that uses science to fight hunger. It is funded by dozens of countries and private foundations. If leading nations stopped biofuel use this year, it would lead to a price decline in corn by about 20 percent and wheat by about 10 percent from 2009-10, said Joachim von Braun. He heads the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, the policy arm of CGIAR. The United States is the biggest biofuel producer.

He and the other scientists said work should be stepped up on the use of non-grain crops, such as switchgrass, for biofuel. Another scientist, not associated with the group, agreed with their call for a halt on the use of grain for fuel. "We need to feed the stomach before we need to feed our cars," said Rattan Lal, an Ohio State University soil sciences professor who in the past has been a critic of some of CGIAR's priorities. "We have 1 billion people who are food insecure. We can't afford the luxury of not taking care of them and taking care of gasoline."

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3/4 of a billion to feed the hungry...

Bush Asks Congress To OK $770M In Food Aid
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2008 - As Widespread Hunger And Social Unrest Loom, Money Urged To Alleviate Soaring Food Prices

President Bush urged Congress Thursday to approve $770 million to help alleviate dramatically escalating food prices that threaten widespread hunger and increasing social unrest around the world. In a surprise mid-afternoon appearance at the White House, Mr. Bush announced he is asking lawmakers to approve the additional funds for global food aid and development programs. The money - to be directed primarily at needy African nations - is being included in a broader $70 billion Iraq war funding measure for 2009 that the White House sent to Capitol Hill on Thursday.

"In some of the world's poorest nations, rising prices can mean the difference between getting a daily meal and going without food," Mr. Bush said. "The American people are generous people and they're a compassionate people. We believe in the timeless truth `to whom much is given, much is expected."' The new money comes on top of $200 million Mr. Bush ordered released two weeks ago for emergency food aid. It also is in addition to a pending $350 million request for emergengy food aid funds. Because the new funds are part of a 2009 budget, they wouldn't be available for distribution until the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, even if they are approved sooner.

Even so, Mr. Bush called it "just the beginning" of the U.S. effort to help. He said the United States would spend a total of $5 billion this year and next on food aid and related programs. "America's in the lead, we'll stay in the lead and we expect others to participate along with us," he said. The new funds are aimed at meeting immediate needs with direct shipments of food aid, and the White House said they would allow for millions more people to get help. Emergency aid accounts for $620 million of the request, said Steve McMillin, deputy director of the president's Office of Management and Budget.

More Bush Asks Congress To OK $770M In Food Aid, As Widespread Hunger And Social Unrest Loom, Money Urged To Alleviate Soaring Food Prices - CBS News

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Maybe we should be taking a cue from the immigrants...

Higher prices push immigrants in U.S. to stock up on rice
Sunday, May 4, 2008 -- Shoppers surveyed shelves loaded with rice at the Ranch 99 Asian supermarket, chatting in languages from Mandarin to Portuguese as they hunted for their favorite varieties and compared prices before heaving 50-pound (23-kilogram) bags into their carts.

Skyrocketing prices and media reports of a rice shortage are driving many people in the United States, including Asian, Hispanic, and Indian immigrants, to stock up on rice -- a once inexpensive staple that is reaching record-high prices across the country. In Indian corner markets and warehouse-sized supermarkets specializing in Asian goods, customers who usually take home a 20 pound (9-kilogram) bag are taking two, or even reaching for the 50 pound (23-kilogram) bag. "It's all in the news, on TV and newspapers," said Grace Yap, originally of China, who was shopping at Ranch 99.

Emphasizing that there is no rice shortage in the United States, economists and commodity traders blame the price hikes confronting U.S. consumers on everything from the weather in producing countries to the increased buying power of countries such as China. Chief among those factors was the decision by India, Vietnam, China, Egypt, Cambodia and Brazil to curtail exports to protect prices at home, said Nathan Childs, an economist and rice expert with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Seeking to tame rising rice prices, which have more than tripled since January, Thailand proposed an OPEC style cartel on Friday with major rice exporters Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam to give them more control over international rice prices. Take escalating prices, add to that news of food riots abroad, and many American buyers are choosing to be safe and purchasing more, especially since rice keeps well. That sends ripples all the way up the buying chain, said Pat Daddow, owner of the California Rice Exchange, a platform where farmers sell to processors.

"You hear prices are going up, so instead of buying one bag, you buy five," he said. "Everyone is anticipating a price rise, so they're trying to buy ahead of it. That creates a short-term rise in demand, and higher prices." But is it hoarding? Not really, since there's no shortage, said Daddow. "It's just rational economic behavior," he said. "If gas were going up tomorrow, wouldn't you fill up your tank?"

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Asian political leaders worried about food crisis, poverty...

Asia fears rising poverty, social unrest from soaring food prices
5 May`08 - Soaring food prices could push millions of people in Asia back into poverty and lead to social unrest, regional leaders warned at the Asian Development Bank's annual meeting in Spain.

"The recent hike in the price of rice will hit Asian countries particularly hard. The ones who are most affected are the poorest segment of the population including the urban poor," Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said Sunday. "It will have a negative impact on the living standards and also affect their nutrition. Such a situation may lead to social untrust and unrest and therefore safety nets addressing the immediate needs of the poorest are needed," he added. Prices for the benchmark Thai variety of rice, a food stable across much of Asia, are at about 1,000 dollars a tonne, up threefold from the last ADB annual meeting held in Japan one year ago. Meat prices have risen by 60 percent in Bangladesh in the year ending in March, and by 45 percent in Cambodia and 30 percent in the Philippines, according to a report issued Saturday by the ADB.

The rise in global food prices has sparked riots last month in Egypt and Haiti, protests in other countries and restrictions on food exports in Brazil, Vietnam, India and Egypt. Indian Finance Secretary Subba Rao said a 20 percent rise in food prices could force 100 million people into extreme poverty. "In many countries, including in Asia, that will mean the undoing of gains in poverty reduction achieved during the past years of growth," he said. The Indian government, which is facing a general election by May 2009, has implemented a raft of measures, such as banning the export of staple foods like rice and lentils and cutting customs duties on other items, to try to ease price pressures. It spends the equivalent of about 2.0 percent of gross domestic product per year on subsidies for food, fertilizer and energy to help offset the impact of rising prices on the poor, Rao said.

But Nukaga warned that export restrictions lead to higher prices while food subsidies to help the poor deal with surging prices could place a tremendous burden on state budgets. "Export restrictions will not only distort the proper functioning of markets in price formation but further exacerbate the price hikes in international markets," he said. "Subsidies that are intended to keep food prices under control have the risk of becoming a significant burden to budgets and are not sustainable over time," he added. Food subsidies in Bangladesh, one of the poorest nations in Asia, are estimated to double in the current fiscal year and reach over 1.5 billion dollars (973 million euros) in the current fiscal year.

The ADB estimates one billion people in Asia are seriously affected by soaring food prices. It announced Saturday on the opening day of its four-day annual meeting in Madrid that it would provide a sizeable amount in soft loans to help Asian countries subsidise the price of food staples for the poor. It will also provide two billion dollars in 2008 and 2009 in loans to finance agriculture infrastructure projects such as irrigation systems and rural roads aimed at boosting farm output in the region. Rising use of biofuels, trade restrictions, increased demand from Asia to serve changing diets, poor harvests and increasing transport costs have all been blamed for the price rise.

AFP: Asia fears rising poverty, social unrest from soaring food prices

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Food riots in Somalia...

Thousands in Somalia Riot Against High Food Prices
05 May 2008 - Thousands of people have violently protested skyrocketing food costs made worse by the devaluation of the local currency in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

As many as 7,000 men and women vented their anger and frustration in the streets, burning tires and hurling stones at shops and vehicles in several areas of Mogadishu. The violence forced hundreds of shopkeepers to close their shops. There are unconfirmed reports that several people were killed or injured in the melee.

Demonstrator Bilan Muse tells VOA that ordinary Somalis, already among the poorest people on earth, have been watching helplessly as food prices skyrocketed in recent months. But she says in recent days, many traders have been insisting on being paid in U.S. dollars instead of the Somali shilling.

Muse says few people have access to dollars, leaving most unable to buy anything. She says it is an outrage that businesses are refusing to accept the country's currency and laments that there is no functioning government that can help the poor people of Mogadishu. "We have been bombed, victimized, and now even our money is worthless," she said.

For the past year, a violent insurgency, a prolonged drought, and a sharp rise in global food and oil prices have helped push Somalia's inflation to its highest level in nearly two decades. Although there are no official figures, it is estimated that the monthly inflation rate may be as high as 150 percent or more.

More VOA News - Thousands in Somalia Riot Against High Food Prices

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Somali forces 'out of control'
Tuesday, 6 May 2008 - Somalis are at the mercy of armed groups who kill, rape and kidnap with impunity, says a human rights group.

Civilians are completely at the mercy of armed groups in Somalia, says human rights group Amnesty International. It says the situation is "dire" in the centre and the south with government troops, their Ethiopian allies and other armed groups "out of control". They carry out killings, torture, rape, beatings, arbitrary detention and forced disappearances, a report says. Troops shot two Somalis dead on Monday in a protest over rising food prices and fake currency.

People who have visited the capital, Mogadishu, recently say parts of it are a ghost town, but Amnesty says residents fleeing the city are prey for armed bandits on the road who rape the girls and steal whatever they have taken with them. Even in refugee camps Somalis face attack, Amnesty says. It says no one is offering them any protection. "We have been killed with bullets and now with hunger"- Woman protester

"Nothing justifies gang rape, slitting the throats of civilians or disproportionate attacks," Amnesty's Michelle Kagari told the BBC. Amnesty calls on the UN to condemn the violations in the strongest terms, strengthen its weapons embargo, increase its monitoring capacity, and set up a commission of inquiry.

Riots BBC NEWS | Africa | Somali forces 'out of control'

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Senate is responsive to global food crisis...

US Senate to boost food aid funds
May 08, 2008 - AS skyrocketing food prices deepen global hunger, the US Senate is seeking $US850 million ($895.3 million) in last-minute funding for emergency food aid this year, $US500 million ($526.65 million) above what President George W. Bush had requested.

Senator Herb Kohl, the Wisconsin Democrat who chairs a subcommittee on agriculture appropriations, said lawmakers would seek the additional food aid funds as part of a massive Iraq war funding bill. Senator Kohl said that an extra $US395 million ($416.05 million) would also be sought for fiscal 2009 in the Appropriation Committee's final version of the supplemental bill in order to help cope with a "perfect storm" of hunger. "The world's supply of food is down, while food demand is up, food costs are skyrocketing and entire societies are falling apart as a direct consequence," he said.

The House of Representatives, as well, is angling to add $US500 million ($526.65 million) to the $US350 million ($368.65 million) the Bush administration has requested in supplemental food aid funding for fiscal 2008. In recent years, supplemental funds for food aid have become a regular addition to annual budgeted funds. The war funding bill is scheduled to be debated on the House floor and also in the Senate Appropriations Committee tomorrow. It was unclear if Mr Bush, who has said he wants a supplemental bill worth $US108 billion ($113.76 billion), will veto the measure if it is too large or if it shackles him in Iraq.

The United States, the world's top donor of food aid, has provided around $US1.6 billion to $US1.7 billion ($1.69 billion-$1.79 billion) in recent years through the Agency for International Development. But its aid budget, and that of other donors, has been able to buy far less food this year due to the spiralling prices for food, which jumped 43 per cent globally through March, and for crude oil, which has forged new ground above $US120 a barrel. Mr Bush has said he's deeply concerned about the global food price crisis, and last week asked Congress for the extra $US395 million ($416.05 million) in emergency food aid in 2009 as part of a package of $US770 million ($811.04 million) in food assistance and agriculture development.

US Senate to boost food aid funds | NEWS.com.au

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Sachs is a frequent guest on the PBS Charlie Rose show...

Economist calls on world to aid African farmers
May 9, 2008 -- Says simple reforms would double Africa's food production in a few years; Jeffrey Sachs: Wealthy nations have neglected aid for agriculture for decades; Money needed for fertilizer, water management and high-yield seeds; "You can't start when you have nothing," he says

Africa's food production could double in a matter of years and help stabilize spiraling food prices if wealthy nations help small farmers with simple agricultural reforms, a top U.S. economist said Thursday. Jeffrey D. Sachs, the head of Columbia University's Earth Institute, said wealthy nations had neglected aid for agriculture for decades in the mistaken belief that market forces would stimulate farmers to invest in good practices. But he said increased production requires money for fertilizer, water management and high-yield seeds -- things many poor farmers do not have and the international community has not been willing to provide.

"While the ideological barriers [to giving aid to agriculture] are being broken, the financial ones are not," Sachs told journalists in Kenya's capital, Nairobi. "There's still no money really to get this done." Sachs said about $10 billion should be made available to small farmers through a global fund, and cited the example of Malawi in 2005 to show that simple interventions can increase crop yields dramatically. Despite strenuous objections from international donors, Malawi's government made vouchers available to farmers to buy fertilizer -- and the subsidy, combined with good rains, doubled the country's yield, he said.

Rising food prices are giving governments an added impetus to invest in agriculture. The price of rice and other staples has risen more than 40 percent since mid-2007. Last week's deadly cyclone in Myanmar -- a large rice exporter -- helped push them even higher. Soaring fuel prices, the diversion of land to biofuels, poor weather and growing demand from the burgeoning middle classes of India and China have contributed to the jump in prices. And the price increases have sparked riots and protests in several African nations, in Asia and in the Caribbean.

Food prices can be eased by "scaling up proven technologies which are beyond the reach of the poorest of the poor" -- like simple irrigation techniques and drought-resistant seeds, he said. Currently 96 percent of farms in Africa rely solely on rain. Sachs estimated it would cost every person in the developed world $10 to double Africa's food production but said rich countries had "basically left the poorest of the poor to their misery." Investment was urgently needed, he warned, and the poor countries who were suffering most from rising prices were unable to fund necessary reforms on their own. "You can't start when you have nothing," he explained.

Economist calls on world to aid African farmers - CNN.com

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Fuel costs eatin' up farmer's profit...

U.S. farmers profit little from high rice prices
Sun., May. 11, 2008 - Some look to just breaking even as cost of fuel eats away at margins

Dipping its left wing, a canary-yellow biplane makes a sharp turn and dives over a flooded field, showering rice on the shallow water fifteen feet below. It's aerial seeding season for rice farmers in California, which produces about 20 percent of the crop grown in the U.S. With the price of rice surging internationally, much of the medium-grain rice being planted between the Sutter Butte mountains and California's Coastal Range has already being sold, even though harvest still is months away.

"It's nuts," said Pat Daddow, head of the California Rice Exchange, a platform where processors bid on and buy rice. "We've sold an ungodly amount of rice, the price has nearly doubled — and this is the crop they're just beginning to plant." The greater demand and new foreign customers driving the global price hike have been a boon to American farmers, who are welcoming the reprieve after years of shouldering high fuel and fertilizer costs and weak prices for their grain.

Commodity traders and economists attribute the global price increases to everything from weather — a drought in Australia, floods in Asia — to the declining value of the dollar, the jump in fuel costs and increased buying power in countries like China and India, said Nathan Childs, an economist and rice expert with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The cyclone that ravaged Myanmar more than a week ago, killing tens of thousands and displacing many more, also devastated the impoverished country's rice-growing heartland. The country, also known as Burma, had produced enough to feed itself, and was expected to export up to 600,000 tons of rice to neighbors including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh this year.

But one of the main factors pushing up prices this month is a peculiarity of the rice market. Although rice — as in Middle Eastern pilaf, Asian rice bowls, or Latin American beans and rice — is a staple around the world, less than 8 percent of the global crop is traded internationally. Most of it is eaten less than 60 miles from where it's grown. That means that when some of the largest producers — among them India, Vietnam, China, and Brazil — curtail exports to protect prices at home, the international marketplace reels and prices for imported varieties soar, Childs said. "A thinly traded market will be more volatile, easily shaken up," Childs said.

More U.S. farmers profit little from high rice prices - Food Inc. - MSNBC.com