The world thought the spike in food prices in January of 2011 was unsustainably high. The global population was growing, at least in the developing world, and as countries like China and India added increasing numbers of well-paid workers to the planet’s employment force, the resultant demand for higher quality (cost) food products, particularly meat (which requires massive amount of grain to feed livestock), pressured food costs to new heights. Parts of the world were already experiencing some of loss of rainfall and melt-off in due to drought conditions, but nothing could have prepare the earth for the impact of the accelerating drought in 2012 in some of the most productive agricultural regions on earth, most notably the American western states.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations noted a 6% increase in the average price of food in July alone (the World Bank thinks it’s more like 10%!). But averages don’t tell the whole story. The FAO notes that cereal grain prices went up an astounding 17% in the same period (since rice prices fell, corn and wheat alone jumped 25% in that month). Meat costs fell 1.7% as ranchers who were unable to feed their herds because of water shortages dumped livestock into the marketplace. Sugar, coffee, cocoa are spiking as well. The interesting factoid is that richer people have more meat in their diet, while poorer people pretty much subsist on grain. So as grain prices skyrocket beyond any other category, the poor are slammed that much harder.
And where on this planet can we find the largest aggregation of poor people? Sub-Saharan Africa: “On average, basic staples such as maize, rice and wheat account for 20 percent of the food consumed in Sub-Saharan Africa, with these three crops alone providing about 30 percent of the calories. Higher global food prices have also led to higher local food prices, particularly for rice and wheat. Forty five percent of rice and 85 percent of wheat consumed in the region is imported.” WorldBank.org.
My August 23rd Blog, Stupid Corn Tricks, already lambasted our policy-makers for subsidizing U.S.-grown corn (look carefully at a kernel of corn and realize why it looks so fat: water!!!) to be used to create the ethanol fuel additive for our vehicles, also driving up food prices accordingly as this valuable grain has been diverted to be, effectively, burned. Even the United Nations has asked us to stop this exceptionally wasteful process (particularly as we place high tariffs on ethanol from more environmentally sustainable Brazilian sugarcane). But what we are facing, particularly if global water tables in major agricultural regions continue to fall by reason of climate change, is substantial. For many, discretionary income will be diverted to pay for food. For others, less fortunate, the result is starvation.
FAO and World Bank officials have admonished the world to be more careful with the food that they do buy, to waste less and throw away vastly less. Some are practicing the 30/30 routine (which works particularly well if you live in California): for 30 days a year, eat products that only come from within 30 miles of your place of residence. Meatless days also spread out available resources, even if your income is sufficient so that it doesn’t matter. The fact that you consume meat puts a greater pressure on the grain needed to feed livestock, which in turn drives up the price of the foodstuff mostly likely to be a poor man’s staple.
If we do face global climate change, our dietary habits will change… either voluntarily or by necessity. Learning to live with less may be our destiny, but if we plan well and implement even better, we might just create a more sustainable planet.
I’m Peter Dekom, and in simple actions we can begin to help those who cannot help themselves.
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