World Food Day: 10 myths about hunger

The Guardian - Global development

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/oct/16/world-food-day-10-myths-hunger

 

Thursday 16 October 2014 14.51 BST

 

 

 

1. There is a global food shortage

Chronic hunger has a range of causes, but global food scarcity is not one of them. According to the World Food Programme, we produce enough to feed the global population of 7 billion people. And the world produces 17% more food per person today than 30 years ago, and the rate of food production has increased faster than the rate of population growth for the past two decades. However, latest calls from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) suggest this might be changing, with estimates that 60% more food is required if population numbers increase to nine billion by 2050.

2. Most of the world’s hungry live in Africa

The majority of the world’s hungry live in the Asia Pacific region. The FAO claims there are 842 million hungry people in the world, 553 million of whom live in Asia and the Pacific. Approximately 227 million live in Africa, 47 million in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 16 million in developed countries.

3. Men are the world’s primary food producers

Globally, it is women who bear the greatest responsibility for food production. Women produce more than half of all food worldwide, accounting for 43% of the global agricultural labour force. In sub-Saharan Africa, women grow 80-90% of the food. This work is performed alongside other domestic tasks including processing food crops, collecting water and firewood, and preparing and cooking food.



4. Malnourishment is caused solely by a lack of food

Though a lack of food is the leading cause of malnutrition in developing countries, the FAO has raised concerns of a “hidden hunger” that occurs when people have enough to eat but don’t receive adequate nutrition from that food. More than 2 billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiency.

5. Global hunger is worsening

The 2014 Global Hunger Index (GHI) showed the state of hunger in developing countries has fallen by 39% since 1990. Despite these gains, the GHI warned of dramatic differences across regions. Sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia have the highest rates of hunger.

6. Obesity is only a problem for developed countries

The obesity epidemic is most commonly associated with high-income nations, but there are almost twice as many overweight and obese people living in developing countries. Obesity rates in Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa are on a par with Europe, and South Africa’s rate is higher than the UK’s.

 



7. Food producers can feed themselves

Too often, people who produce the world’s food are unable to feed themselves and their families. The FAO estimates that about half of the world’s hungry people are from smallholder farming communities, where families are prone to drought and flood.

8. Large-scale farming is the answer

Though reducing hunger might seem like a job for large-scale agriculture, the UN has called for a greater focus on the potential of small-scale farmers to reduce global hunger rates. The UN’s special rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, has called for governments to shift subsidies and research funding from large agribusiness to small-scale rural farmers, who are already feeding the majority of the world.

9. It’s food or the environment

Some argue that a trade-off between the state of the environment and global food production is inevitable; others claim it doesn’t have to be this way. According to the UN conference on trade and development, the productivity of small-scale farmers can be increased without sacrificing the environment, and this must be done to meet global food requirements. This would involve a shift whereby farmers, traditionally viewed as producers, would become managers of an agro-ecological system that also provides public goods including water, energy and biodiversity.

10. It’s difficult to know where hunger and famine will strike

There are early warning systems in place to predict trends in food insecurity. The famine early warning system network (Fewsnet) is one of those tools, and was created by USAid after famines in east and west Africa. Fewsnet analyses crop production, climate, nutrition and food prices to send alerts on potential food crises and famines.

World Food Production

Food production index (2004-2006 = 100)

 

Food production index covers food crops that are considered edible and that contain nutrients. Coffee and tea are excluded because, although edible, they have no nutritive value.

 

 Source: FAO 2014



Source:FAO

 

source: The Economist.com - article dated Sept 23rd 2010

 

Theme 2 - Largest offshore wind farm opens off Thanet in Kent

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-11395964

23 September 2010

The world's biggest offshore wind farm off Kent has been officially opened.

Swedish energy giant Vattenfall said the 100 turbines are expected to generate enough electricity to power 200,000 homes.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne is visiting the project, which has been built seven miles (12km) off Foreness Point in Thanet.

Construction work at the £780m wind farm began two years ago and was completed in June.

"We are an island nation and I firmly believe we should be harnessing our wind, wave and tidal resources to the maximum”

The 380ft (115m) tall turbines are spread over an area of more than 35 sq km and are visible from the shore on a clear day.

There are currently about 250 wind farms operating in the UK, with a further 12 offshore, with 2,909 turbines in operation in total.

Vattenfall also owns the 30-turbine Kentish Flats wind farm, off Herne Bay, which was one of the UK's first such projects when it opened five years ago.

A company spokesman said more than 3,600 people have worked on the Thanet wind farm, with 30% of workers from the UK.

Up to 20 technicians from the local area have now been employed to work there full time, he added.

The progress on wind power was welcomed by Mr Huhne at a ceremony to mark the launch of the new site.
'Island nation'
He said the government was focused on moving from the "frankly atrocious record" on green energy it had inherited.

"We are in a unique position to become a world leader in this industry," he said.

"We are an island nation and I firmly believe we should be harnessing our wind, wave and tidal resources to the maximum.

"I know that there is still more to do to bring forward the large sums of investment we want to see in low-carbon energy in the UK, and we as a government are committed to playing our part."

Environmental campaigners have urged the government to invest more in renewable energy.

Currently the UK sources just 3% of all its energy from renewables, against a target of 15% by 2020.

Craig Bennett, the campaigns and policy director for Friends of the Earth, said the Thanet wind farm was an "important stride forward" but warned the UK's record on renewable energy was "dismal".

The total capacity of the UK's onshore and offshore wind turbines now exceeds 5GW, enough to power all the homes in Scotland.

But Professor Ian Fells, an energy expert, said: "What worries me is the government seems to be obsessed with the option of wind farms and neglects other sources of renewable energy, which in may ways could be more important.

"The other problem is they are intermittent. You never know when the wind is going to blow."
'An eyesore'
Not all Kent residents have welcomed the wind farm's arrival.

One resident told BBC South East Today: "I don't like them. I look at the (turbines) and I think they're an eyesore quite honestly."

The opening came as research published by Oxford Economics suggests that as many as 34,000 direct permanent skilled jobs, and a further 24,000 permanent indirect jobs, could be created from operations and maintenance activities running wind farms.

These are additional to the temporary construction and manufacturing jobs and most would be generated in coastal communities around the UK.

Earlier this year, Vattenfall project manager Ole Nielsen said wind farms were getting bigger and bigger.

The London Array project in the Thames Estuary, for which energy firm E.ON is a major backer, will enter its offshore construction phase next year.

In all, up to 341 turbines will be installed over a four-year period.

Mr Nielsen said that in the future, offshore wind farms could have up to 1,000 turbines.