Global Food Crisis 2010-2011 and Its Causes - Essay Example

Global Food Crisis and its causes Since the beginning of the world has seen food issues all over the world. From UK’s wheat prices going all time high, food riots in Algeria, Russia’s grain imports for sustaining cattle herds, India’s challenge of 18 percent annual food inflation rate, China looking to import massive amounts of corn and wheat, Mexicans wrestling with tortilla price hike, to food shortages and protests sparking throughout the world(Brown,2011).Furthermore, United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization revealed that food price index for December 2010 reached an all time high(cited in Brown,2011).World is fighting to feed itself and the number to be fed is mounting with every passing day. The world population is going to be 9 billion by 2050.Already high number people starving to death is mounting climbing that can turn out to be rampant starvation due to continuously tighter supplies. Key food producing countries, such as China is experiencing the worst drought in last 200 years; Russia is struggling to recover from drought. Floods have devastated Australia and Brazil’s agricultural production. Global weather trends in last year are exerting immense pressure on global food system which was already struggling to avoid a major breakdown (Micheal, n.d.). Linking with 2008 food crisis According to World Bank (2011) facts and figures, before the emergence of fuel and financial crisis, 1.1 billion people were living on less than one dollar a day. Another 923 million people were undernourished. Food prices continuously remain volatile. Despite of falling prices on international level, local food prices have not come down. According to Wiggin (2010) the fact is that 2008 food crisis was never actually left the world. It is true that we didn’t see food riots during 2009 and warehouse stores, such as Costco didn’t ration 20 pound packet of rice, however, the supplies continued to stay tight. Price for food items, such as, corn and wheat remained lower than that of 2008’s point; however, they never went at the point of pre-2008 food crisis. Primary farm commodities’ prices went higher in 2010 with corn 63 percent up, wheat 84 percent, sugar 55 percent, and soybean 24 percent up. Factor inducing global food crisis Global food shortages are ringing alarming bells for world leaders as it forced emergency meetings at U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization who stressed the need of immediate action(cited in Activist,2011).There are many reasons to this global food crisis, most cited are extreme weather conditions(Activist,2011)increasing population in particular in developing countries (Alexakha,2011) supply/demand imbalance(Brown,2011), and food (or oil) commodity speculation(Activist,2011). Supply-demand imbalance In past years, weather fluctuations caused a spike in commodity prices; however, it is both sides of the supply and demand equation that are directing the prices upwards now. If we consider demand side, the major factors are population growth, increasing affluence, and grains use to make fuel. While on supply side, the major culprits are soil erosion, aquifer depletion, plateauing of crop yield in certain agriculturally advanced countries, utilization of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes, supply of irrigation water to cities (Brown, 2011). The supply and demand imbalance is being driven by increasing affluence, population growth. Increasing wealth in emerging economies, such as China and India where middle class is expanding and converting from grain diet to meat diet(Miller,2011).According to Brown(2011) nearly 3 billion people are moving up the food chain because they are eating more quantities of grain-intensive meat products. Milk, meat, and eggs consumption is increasing in developing countries. Currently, China’s meat needs are approximately double than that of USA’s. Furthermore, the world population is approximately doubled since 1970s.Every year; world population is increasing 80 million. Every night, there are 219,000 more mouths to be fed from the depleting sources of this world. This situation is becoming challenging for earth’s water and land resources, and farmers’ skills. Another major source of demand growth is grain use for fueling cars, as Brown (2011) found that United States yielded 416 million tons of grains in 2009, and utilized 119 million tons for producing fuel by ethanol distilleries. The quantity used for fueling cars was sufficient to feed 350 million people for 12 months. U.S has massively invested in ethanol distilleries and this situation has put the humans and cars in front of each other for food. According to Brown (2011), the effect of these demands is huge, particularly when supply is not as efficient. It has doubled world annual grain consumption from 21 million tons per year during1990-2005 to 41 million tons per year in 2005-2010. The major culprit for this huge demand is ‘orgy of investment’ in U.S. ethanol production through grains in 2006-2008. Activist (2011) observed seven major reasons that can translate food shortages into a global food crisis. These factors that contribute to food shortages and subsequent price hike and food crisis include: extreme weather conditions, bee colony collapse, collapsing dollar, regulatory crackdown, rising oil prices, increasing soil pollution, and GMO giants. Weather conditions Extreme weather conditions are a major culprit that triggered global food crisis. Condition from droughts, fires, and heat waves in China and Russia to ‘biblical flooding’ in Australia and Pakistan proved to be catastrophic for crops. The problem does not end there as United States and whole Europe are struck by extreme winter snap and snow. Already fragile staple crop harvest is considered to be even more critical in 2011.Considering the last decade, future weather does not seem to become any better (Activist, 2011).Furthermore, other challenges like evolving wheat pathogen Ug99 are threatening for major wheat producing regions of southern and eastern Africa, the central Asian Republics, Indian subcontinent, South America, North America, the Caucasus, and Australia (Miller, 2011). Furthermore, climatic change has caused crop-withering heat waves, melting glaciers and ice sheets. The climatic changes appeared to be taking a far more intense toll in coming days (Brown, 2011). Bee colony collapse According to Guardian report on USDA’s research, common four species of bumblebee in United States have decreased by 96 percent in last decades. It is established that bees pollinate 90 percent of world’s commercial crops which can pose serious threats to natural food supply (Activist, 2011). Dollar collapse Commodity speculation gives rise to massive food inflation which is currently evident in poor countries. Food commodity prices are soaring because of trading in continuously unstable dollar. Debt issues in United States are worsening that will lead China and Russia to find alternatives of their trade vehicle which will drive prices to another higher level (Activist, 2011). Regulatory crackdown Small farms were thrown out of business even before FDA empowering Food Safety Modernization Act. The new bill is further helping government to control the industry and intimidate small farmers (Activist, 2011). Oil price hike During 2008, record breaking high price of oil directed food prices as well. During the six months period, rice prices tripled in addition to other food commodities. Oil prices affect food commodities on different levels, such as, plowing fields, harvesting, fertilizers, pesticides, and transportation. In 2011, oil is speculated to reach $150-$200 per barrel in coming months. With weakening dollar, oil prices will further climb and therefore, the food prices to a level of crisis (Activist, 2011). Soil pollution According to Brown (2011) while the demand for grain growth is doubled, new challenges are emerging from supply side. Nearly one third of the world’s cropland is depriving of its topsoil faster than the formation of new soil in a natural way; consequently, the earth is being deprived of its natural productivity. Two major dust bowls are shaping one of which is across northwest China, central Asia, and Magnolia; the other one is in central Africa. Both of these dust bowls are much bigger than that of US’s dust bowl in 1930s. Furthermore, grain harvest is decreasing in Magnolia and Lesotho because soil erosion reduces the yield and consequent desertion of cropland. This scenario results in increasing hunger and dependence on imports, such as, North Korea and Haiti are persistently dependant on food aid due to severe soil erosion. Furthermore, falling water tables in several countries is going to drive the food prices to higher level sooner or later. Furthermore, according to Activist (2011) geo-engineering is practiced on a huge scale in United States. Also known as ‘chemtrailing,’ government admitted it to be its plan ‘B’ to battle against global warming. The patents used in such praying are loaded with aluminum which is contaminating trees, plants and making the soil sterile to numerous crops. Furthermore, GMO’s have patented aluminum-resistant seeds in order to save the opportunity. GMO giants Growing understanding of GM foods, several countries are not planting them, therefore, food crisis situation seems to be essential in order to realize the importance of GM products(Activist,2011).According to a leaked Wikileaks cable, there is certainly some strategy of GMO companies and trade secretaries noted that “commodity price rise can be expected to encourage liberalization on biotech imports(cited in Activist,2011).Even today, GMO giants  control substantial amount of food supply, it is highly likely that they manipulate prices in order to achieve complete control(Activist,2011). Depleting earth’s resources, extreme weather, increasing population, decreasing supplies, and increasing demands for food have taken us on the verge of a global food crisis again. It is fast and approaching, some of the glimpses are already seen in the form of riots and increasing food imports. It is crucial for a peaceful world to invest in food, environment, soil, water, and land sustenance rather than fueling our cars. It is high time for the world leaders to device an effective and efficient strategy to counter food shortages in order to stop it from transforming it into a huge crisis. Works Cited Activist Post, 2011.7 reasons food shortages will become a global crisis.activistpost.com, [blog] 7 January, Available at:  [Accessed 11 May 2011]. Brown Lester, 2011.The great food crisis 2011: It’s real, and it’s not going away anytime soon.Foreignpolicy.com argument, [blog] 10 January, Available at: [Accessed 12 May 2011]. Micheal, n.d. Food Crisis 2011? 14 Disturbing Facts That Make You Wonder If the Coming Global Food Shortage Has Already Begun.endoftheamericandream.com, [blog], Available at  [Accessed 12 May 2011]. Miller, Henry, 2011.How we engineered the food crisis. [Online] guardian.co.uk.Available at :< http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/mar/20/food-farming> [Accessed 11 May 2011]. Wiggin Addison, 2010.The food crisis of 2011.blogs.forbes.com, [blog] 27 October, Available at [Accessed 12 May 2011]. World Bank, 2011.Food Crisis: What the World Bank is doing. [Online](Updated 7April 2011) Available at :< http://www.worldbank.org/foodcrisis/bankinitiatives.htm> [Accessed 12 May 2011]. Read More