The End Of Prosperity
The Global Food Crisis
What?
Food is one of the most unequally distributed resources on the planet. Since the end of the 1970's, there has been a steady decline in global hunger. However, the early 2000's brought on a rapid increase due to a hefty rise in food prices globally. In January 2011, it was declared that global food prices had reached their highest level ever, and today over 150 million children world wide are malnourished. France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States governments have supported the creation of biofuels, but the policies in place have the unintended consequence of diverting resources from food production and leading to surging food prices and the potential destruction of natural habitats.
Why?
It is believed that the Global Food Crisis has been caused by drought in high food producing areas and high demand for food. In other words, there is higher global population expecting to be fed and expecting to be fed more. The source of high world population can come down to high life expectancies in first world countries and having access to basic medicines which once were the difference between life and death. Along with this, many grains and crops are being diverted from food purposes to producing biofuels and energy sources.
Roman Catholic Church on the Food Crisis
The primary goal of Christianity in this crisis is to provide access to food for all people and to reduce poverty among the most vulnerable everywhere. Important moral measures of the global food and agricultural system are how their weakest participants are treated and whether the system provides access to basic nutrition for all. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are urging the United States to send emergency food supplies around the world to where the food crisis is being felt the most, and to supply small-scale farmers with funding to keep their farms operating and producing. These practices are and will continue to take place in Australia. As well as these short term solutions, for the long term, we need to make food a priority in the creation of biofuels, so that food resources aren't wasted and access to nourishment is not reserved to those wealthy enough to afford it.
2288 Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God.
We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good.
Concern for the health of its citizens requires that society help in the attainment of living conditions that allow them to grow and reach maturity: food and clothing, housing, health care, basic education, employment, and social assistance.