Transcript The Biggest Crisis of the 21st Century

A Global Food Crisis
By Nina Sandström Angelsen
Selbu videregående skole
English Subject Curriculum
Culture, society and literature
• The aims of the studies are to enable pupils to
– elaborate on and discuss a number of international and global
challenges
2008 – The Year of Global Food Crisis
• 2008 was announced as the
year of global food crisis
• The Sunday Herald described
the world’s food situation as:
”The Biggest Crisis of
the 21st Century”
”The Biggest Crisis of the 21st Century”
•
Millions of people around the world are
starving because of food scarcity and high
prices on staple food* such as grain, rice,
soya beans, and maize
•
In 2008 – prices on these staples increased
dramatically
•
Many developing countries today are facing
a food crisis and all of them will need help to
deal with this crisis:
– Many of these countries are in Africa,
Asia, and South-America
* Sikringskost eller hovedernæringskilde
Last Year’s Global Food Crisis
2008
What was last year’s global food crisis
about?
•
•
Rising food prices:
Food prices rose by 75% since 2000, which was a
dramatic increase.
–
–
Wheat prices increased by 200%
The cost of rice, corn and soy beans also reached
record highs
•
The rise of prices on rice, corn, and grain was
especially serious since these foods form the main
food sources for a great number of people in Asia,
Africa and Central America and without which
millions of people face starvation and death
•
There is food available in the markets and shops
but because of the high prices people could not
afford to buy it and as a result starved
•
If prices on staple foods (sikringskost) such as rice,
grain, corn and soy beans sky-rocket, people
around the earth are unable to afford the food they
need to stay alive.
A Global Food Shortage?
•
Maybe - in the future!
•
The world’s population is
increasing
•
It is estimated that by 2050 – the
world’s population will be around 9
billion people
•
In order to feed the growing
population – the world needs to
double its production of food by
2050
•
If it fails to do so - millions of
people will starve
Food Shortage
• Food shortage has and might
become a serious problem:
– China’s grain harvest has
shrunk by 10% over the past
seven years
– The world’s grain stocks
(kornlagre) have been greatly
reduced
– In India last year, more than
25,000 farmers took their own
lives, driven to despair by
grain shortages and farming
debts.
What Are Some of the Causes Behind the Global Food Crisis?
The World’s Population Is Increasing

The world’s population has steadily
increased since the 1800s

It is estimated that the world’s population will
reach 9 billion by 2050

In order to feed this growing number of
people – we need to double today’s
production of food

However, according to UN climate scientists
higher temperatures and global warming will
lead to droughts and floods that destroy
crops of grain, rice, and other staple foods
around the world and leave farmlands dried
up

As a result - we might be heading for a
severe food shortage in the future and we
might not be able to feed everyone

Millions of people might starve to death
Fleeing the Countryside and Farming –
Urbanization of Societies

Prior to year 2000, prices on corn, rice
and grain were unusually low

As a result many farmers, especially in the
developing countries such as China, Indian
and Africa, were unable to handle their
farming debts and/or make a living off
their crop-growing land


•
The flight from the countryside, farming
and farming-related occupations, is called
urbanization of society
•
More and more people around the world
live in towns and big cities and are
engaged in occupations other than farming
•
The process of increased urbanization has
been going on since the beginning of the
age of industrialization
•
Today this means that cities are expanding
(utvider seg) and this expansion involves
using farmland to make room for new
buildings and roads (infrastructure). As a
result acres of crop-growing land have
been lost, worsening the food shortage
today.
In addition to that, they also experienced
years of crop failure due to droughts and
floods and other natural disasters
As a result many farmers experienced
foreclosures or abandoned their farms
altogether, leaving farmland to waste, and
went searching for jobs in the cities
Trends in Urbanization
Global Warming
•
According to a majority of the
world’s climate scientists, higher
temperatures caused by global
warming will result in an increase of
droughts and flooding around the
world
•
Vast areas of farmland might dry up
or be flooded, leaving it useless for
farming and the growing of food
•
According to the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), a one-metre rise in
sea-level over the next 100 years
might flood almost 1/3 of the world’s
crop-growing land
•
Droughts and floodings will destroy
crops and crop-growing land.
•
This might in turn lead to a serious
food shortage worldwide.
•
As a result, the world’s stocks of
grain, rice, corn and other staple
foods will be greatly reduced and
millions of people will starve.
•
According to the United Nations, an
area of fertile* soil the size of
Ukraine is lost every year because of
drought, deforestation* and climate
changes.
The Production of Biofuels
•
The threat of global warming caused by emissions
of man-made greenhouse gases such as carbon
dioxide (CO2) that are released into the atmosphere
by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and
coal has resulted in a search for so-called “green”
fuels that can power our vehicles (cars, trucks,
boats, and planes)
•
One of these “green” fuels is biofuel which is made
from crops such as maize (mais)
•
The use of farmland and crops to produce biofuels
has increased in recent years. However, with a
growing global food crisis on our hands, experts
fear that the use of vast areas of farmland to grow
crops for bio-fuels might contribute to the growing
food shortage in the world. In other words, in a
world of food shortage and starvation, valuable
farmland is used to “grow food to feed cars instead
of people”
•
More than 20 countries plan to increase their
production of bio-fuels over the next decade
•
Last year a ¼ of the US maize crops was turned
into ethanol to fuel vehicles (kjøretøyer), and the US
is planning to treble maize production to make
biofuels or ethanol.
Global Warming
Natural Disasters
Hurricanes, Torandoes, Tsunamies,
Droughts, Floods,etc.
•
Severe droughts and other natural disasters such as the Asian
tsunami have destroyed crops in Africa, Australia, Asia,
Europe, and central-America
•
Last year Australia experienced its worst drought for over a
century, and as a result its wheat crop shrank by 60%
•
In Europe, severe droughts have destroyed half the crops in
Spain and Portugal. Both countries have applied to the EU for
food assistance
•
Many countries, especially African countries, have had their
worst droughts in more than 10 years and are now
experiencing their third or fourth severe drought in a just a few
years
•
Severe droughts have also badly affected crops in Cuba,
Cambodia, Australia, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Morocco,
Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua
•
According to UN climate scientists, global warming and higher
temperatures have caused the moisture in the soil to
evaporate, leaving valuable crop-growing land dry.
Economic Growth in Developing Countries
•
Economic growth in developing countries such as
China has resulted in a growing middle-class who
can afford and desire the standard of living enjoyed
by many people in developed countries such as the
USA, Norway, Canada, etc.
•
This change of standard of living also involves
changing your food habits
•
In China the consumption of meat has increased
among people who have benefited from the recent
economic growth in the country
Members of the growing Chinese middle class can
now afford to buy and eat larger amounts of meat
than earlier
However, the raising of livestock such as cattle
requires much more land and produces far less
food than if the area has been used to grow rice,
grain, or maize
Therefore, ironically, if economic growth in
developing countries continues and the demand for
meat increases worldwide, this might worsen the
food shortage in the world as vast areas of land and
farmland might be converted into pastures for
livestock, producing food that millions of people in
poor countries who do not take part in the economic
growth cannot afford to buy.
•
•
•
Meat Consumption in China
2009 - The Global Food Crisis I
Food shortage
•
12 February 2009
– The output of global cereal has been reduced
since 2008 (FAO)
•
Southern Africa
– A smaller maize crop because of dry weather
Asia
– A smaller wheat crop in China and India
because of severe drought and precipitation
•
High prices persist in many poor countries
•
Despite the decline in international prices in the
second half of 2008, food prices remain very high in
several developing countries
•
This affects access to food among low-income
population groups
•
In Southern Africa and Central America, prices of
main food commodities have continued to rise or
have not decreased in recent months
2009 – Global Food Crisis
•
Western and Eastern African countries
– Prices have fallen significantly since 2008
– But now they are increasing again
– Prices on important staples such as imported
rice and wheat are still on the increase.
– Prices of rice and wheat remain high in
several poor countries in Asia, Afghanistan,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
•
32 countries in crisis
– Food crises persist in 32 countries around the
world.
– The food situation is especially severe in the Gaza
Strip as a result of the recent conflict (FAO)
– In Eastern Africa
• more than 18 million people face serious
food insecurity due either to conflict,
unrest, adverse weather or a combined
effect
– In Kenya, Somalia and Zimbabwe, the food
situation is very serious due to drought-reduced
crops, civil insecurity and/or economic crises
Food Prices 2007-2009
Future Prospects
•
According to experts it is possible for
the world to feed itself but it depends
on how we are growing food
•
Maybe we, here in Norway, might
have to reconsider our dependency on
our import of staple food such as grain
and consider growing our own food to
a much greater extent than we do
today
•
Perhaps we even might have to use
our well-trimmed gardens and lawns to
grow potatoes and other vegetables,
as people did in this country during
WWII
•
Who knows?
By Nina Sandström Angelsen
Selbu videregående skole