Rich societies trigger global food crisis

Farmers, peasants and ordinary people claim the current global food crisis has been triggered by increasing meat consumption by the rich. Picture shows local farmers at work in the fields

A group of Sri Lankan organizations representing farmers, peasants and ordinary people says that the current global food crisis has been triggered by increasing meat consumption by the rich resulting in more food being produced for animals than humans, and also food being used to produce bio-fuel—again for the needs of the rich.

The group, issuing a statement to coincide with Labour Day on May 1 said more urbanization also reduced the proportion of food producers compared to consumers while climate change has had an adverse impact on food production worldwide.

The statement was prepared by the Alliance for Protection of National Resources and Human Rights and endorsed by the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform, National Farmers Assembly, Peasant Information Centre, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Development, National Movement of Milk Farmers in Sri Lanka, Savisthri-Movement of Women in Alternative Development, National Fisheries Solidarity, Nilwala Nimna Govi Sanvidhanaya, Dimbulagala Independent Farmers Organisation, Ruhunupura Govi Jana Samuluwa, Pragathiseeli Govijana Sammelanaya, New Environmental Resources Alliance, Uva Farmers Collective for poison-free Agriculture, Movement for Protection of Indigenous Seeds, among others.

It said world food prices increased by 40 percent last year while in Sri Lanka it was much higher. The price of essential food such as rice, bread and milk increased two or three times with the impact being greatest on the poor who spend about 80 percent of their income on food. “This is part of a global crisis in which more and more people cannot feed themselves or their children. Alongside the current high cost of living increase this situation is extremely dangerous,” the statement said.

The group said Sri Lanka’s President and Minister of Agriculture have taken steps to strengthen domestic food production by small-scale farmers and have some control over rice prices, but these measures have been half-hearted, inadequate and ineffective.

“For the last 30 years the government has followed the export-oriented growth model. This neo-liberal model assumes that globalization enables the country to achieve faster economic growth which ‘trickles down’ to reduce poverty. We are now at a highpoint in a process of disastrous failure of that model. There has been a lack of economic growth, no ‘trickle down’ to the poor and in fact increased economic and social disparities. A new approach is urgently needed,” it said.

The group has called for a new approach towards averting possible famine in the country. It said small-scale agriculture, basically for domestic food production, is the only way out of the present crisis.

It called for radical and comprehensive policy changes needed to the current system that is counter-productive. Trade in the hands of the private sector has resulted in large, private monopolies controlling food and other consumer markets which act against the interests of small-scale rural producers and consumers, the statement said.