For my last post of the
day on World Food Day, I'm going to talk a little bit about one of
the four major issues that Oxfam are trying to tackle in the GROW
campaign: Food Price Spikes. This year's World Food Day theme
is “FOOD PRICES – FROM CRISIS TO STABILITY” so it's
particularly fitting to talk about this today. Here's how Oxfam
explain the issue:
“After decades of
progress, the number of people without enough to eat is actually
increasing, and food price spikes are a big part of the problem.
That's because, when you spend up to 75% of your weekly income on
food – as many poor families are forced to do – sudden rises have
an especially destructive effect. Price spikes have many causes –
the changing climate, oil prices, dysfunctional commodities markets,
biofuels policies that mean crops end up in cars and not on plates –
but what's clear is that we are facing a whole new challenge. It's
time for governments to work together to deal with food price crises
effectively – and to tackle the problems that mean millions of
people can't afford enough to eat.”
In these tough economic
times, even in this country we are feeling the effects of
fluctuations in food prices. From a quick bit of Google researching (please comment if you find figures that are different!) I found out that
in the UK 8.8% of what we spend goes on food. So obviously in a
country where up to 80% goes on food, the effects of price spikes are
going to be much more greatly felt. By backing Oxfam's campaign, we
can work together to make the food future more secure for everyone.
Sign up to show your
support and make a difference.
No comments:
Post a Comment