Almost a billion people go hungry today... and that’s the good news apparently. According to a recent Oxfam report, the worst is coming with food prices soaring while the mega food companies enjoy enormous profits. Something’s wrong.
In the wake of numerous reports about food cost increases, including the from the UN’s food and agriculture organization, Oxfam has added its voice with a lengthy report explaining how things are just going to get worse. Apparently, while mega companies are doing just fine, they are using their dominance and control over the world’s food in a way that will leave many more without access to basic food staples. Today, three companies control almost 90% of grain trading.
Consumers in rich countries may waste as much as a quarter of the food they buy while many cannot afford enough to eat. Our global food system is reeling from misguided production, droughts, floods, oil price spikes, financial crises, and on and on, all of which are making food less affordable to more and more people. As the report put it, it’s time to stop our “sleepwalk” into disaster.
We agree. Wake up.