Learning more about the Global Food Crisis & Rising Food Prices

Click here for full-size image. 

37 countries requiring external assistance according to FAO.

██ Exceptional shortfall in aggregate food production/supplies

██ Widespread lack of access

██ Severe localized food insecurity

 

Image credit: Food Crisis 2007-2008 Listed by FAO. You can read FAO documents about Crop Prospects and Food Situation here. 

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I'd rather be reading and writing about happier, lighter topics but again this morning I received an email newsletter, this time from DocuTicker*, with more resources about this crisis that cannot be ignored just because it isn't in my/our own backyard...yet. I'll be completely honest with you: I'm at the awareness stage, with minimal understanding. I am concerned and perhaps a little bit worried. And I'm starting now to look for ways to take action.

Here are the DocuTicker links. They are concise, factual, and not filled with overwhelming statistics. They provided me with an overview, a starting point for understanding the causes, impacts and implications of the crisis.

+ Rising food prices: Policy options and World Bank response (World Bank) <http://digbig.com/4wtnn>

+ Implications of higher global food prices for poverty in low-income countries (World Bank) <http://digbig.com/4wtnk>

+ Food Riots in Haiti Threaten Progress (Center for Strategic & International Studies) <http://digbig.com/4wtnp>

+ Food Price Inflation: Causes and Impacts (Congressional Research Service) <http://digbig.com/4wtnh>

+ USDA Rice Projections, 2008-17  (U.S. Department of Agriculture) <http://digbig.com/4wtnj>

*DocuTicker offers a hand-picked selection of resources, reports and publications from government agencies, NGOs, think tanks and other public interest organizations. It is maintained by librarians.

World Food Crisis

This evening I was planning on editing and sharing my notes from Dr. Susan I. Barr's excellent  session on Canada's Food Guide presented at the Dietetics in Action education day.  But about an hour ago I received an email message from Avaaz.org that convinced I should learn more about the global food crisis -- NOW.  I am reproducing the message here word-for-word so that you can follow the links (Avaaz backs up the statements with published sources) and decide whether you want to sign the petition. I did.

Dear friends,

Rocketing prices threaten to starve millions and make us all less secure -- sign the emergency petition for action to stop the world food crisis Sign the Petition Watch the Video

Have you noticed food costing more when you shop? Here's why -- we're plunging headlong into a world food crisis. Rocketing prices are squeezing billions and triggering food riots from Bangladesh to South Africa. Aid agencies say 100 million more people are at risk of starvation right now[1]. In Sierra Leone alone the price of a bag of rice has doubled, becoming unaffordable for 90% of citizens[2]. Fears of inflation stalk the whole world, and the worst could be yet to come.

We need to act now -- before it's too late. As Ban Ki-Moon holds a high-level UN meeting on the crisis, we're launching an urgent campaign with African foreign minister and human rights campaigner Zainab Bangura. Click below to see Zainab's video message and add your name to the food crisis petition -- we need to raise 200,000 signatures by the end of this week to deliver a massive global outcry to leaders at the UN, G8 and EU:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/world_food_crisis/9.php

The prices of staple foods like wheat, corn and rice have almost doubled, and the crisis is slipping out of control -- so we're calling for immediate action on emergency food aid, speculation and biofuels policy, while asking forthcoming summits to tackle deeper problems of investment and trade.[3]

The global food crisis touches and connects us all, creating a tsunami of hunger for the poor and damaging economies and squeezing citizens in the rich world too. But solutions are on the horizon if leaders act fast [4] -- sign the petition at the link below now, then forward this email and ask friends and family to do the same:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/world_food_crisis/9.php

With hope,

Paul, Galit, Ricken, Graziela, Iain, Mark, Pascal and the whole Avaaz team

Sources:

1. BBC: "How to stop the global food crisis": http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7365798.stm

"The New Economics of Hunger", Washington Post, 27 April 2008 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/26/AR2008042602041_pf.html

2. Zainab Bangura, Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone, video message to Avaaz members http://www.avaaz.org/en/world_food_crisis/9.php

3. Chinese news citing World Bank figures: http://www.cctv.com/english/20080426/102406.shtml

Reuters: "Rising food prices to top UN agenda" http://www.reuters.com/article/gc08/idUSL1890947220080424

4. See BBC article above, and "Rising Food Prices" by Alex Evans (Chatham House report) http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/files/11422_bp0408food.pdf

UN scientific report on fixing the world food system: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7347239.stm

The Guardian: "Credit crunch? The real crisis is global hunger", George Monbiot http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/apr/15/food.biofuels

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ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and Geneva.

Poster presentation

Blogging as a tool for learning, communicating & connecting and translating knowledge into practice

Tomorrow is the Dietetics in Action Day at which I will present this poster.  Many of the dietitians at this event will not have blogging experience or will be unfamiliar with Greens & Berries, so I've kept the information very basic.

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll not find anything new in the presentation so you may not want to take time to open or download it.  I'm including the file  here so I don't lose track of it (!) on my cluttered hard drive at work and to remind me of the lessons learned (but certainly not mastered) in creating my second poster. 

From cupcakes to posters; asking for my readers' help

Image credit: Tips for designing scientific posters

My last post, over a week ago, was on cupcakes (part of the Friday Fun-with-Food series) but now that I'm back at work (first day, ouch) I'm returning to more serious topics. Today's subject: creating an experience-sharing poster for our upcoming Dietetics in Action education day.

Last year on my old blog I shared some of the excellent resources I found on making posters.  If you have to do a poster presentation, I recommend consulting them.  This morning, I'm reviewing the information -- why, oh why do I still have so much trouble with guideline #1: Start Early!

The working title of my poster is  Blogging as a tool for learning, communicating and translating knowledge into practice.

Here is where you can help. I would love some reader input. If you have a few minutes, could you think about this question and either comment or email a reply:

Is there a specific blog post (it can be from any credible blog on any subject) that demonstrates blogging is a valuable tool for learning, reflecting, connecting with others, and/or sharing and advancing knowledge?"  For example, the type of post that, after you read it, you thought "YES -- this is important, new-to-me information I can use in my practice."  It may be a quotation, essay, research article or other resource you bookmarked and/or forwarded to your colleagues, students or clients.

Thank you very much. I'd be thrilled to share others' ideas, resources and experiences on the poster rather than just my own opinions and words.

So I probably don't have to tell you things may be quiet around Greens & Berries for a few more days. Last week I used the excuse of vacation; this coming week I will -- I must -- be hard at work on my poster .

Sweet and cozy cupcakes

A few of my favourite cupcakes by Amigurumi Kingdom:
 

Pick your own favourites here: