Soaring Global Food Price "Pressure Points" Mapped

The people of Chicago have spoken:  rising food prices and hunger are issues that must be taken on today.  Deaths due to a lack of food must end.

The vast famine in Somalia and across the Horn of Africa is just one example of an area in which droughts, instability, and injustice have hit poor, small farmers first and the worst.  Oxfam America has compiled this interactive map--including stats and photos--to depict this global crisis and other areas being hit by rising food prices.  Check it out and spread the word!

Famine in Somalia: Realities of a Broken Food System

With ongoing drought and food shortages across East Africa, the United Nations has declared a famine in parts of Somalia.  The UN claims that "10 million people are on the verge of starvation" and Oxfam America reports that millions in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia also struggle as thousands of refugees pour into refugee camps.  This crisis has been the culmination of multiple factors.  The lack of rainfall, for instance, has sliced harvests in half across Somalia and caused mass livestock losses for many communities already living in poverty.  

Immediate humanitarian aid is needed to alleviate starvation and rising displacement across Eastern Africa.  Yet, Oxfam America also emphasizes the need for a long term vision in dealing with the famine.  Small farmers like those living in the drought-stricken areas of Somalia, for example, need support to develop sustainable farming economies in times of climate change.  Stable and robust crop yields mean security for millions that rely on sustenance farming to support themselves and their family.  Success for small farmers can mean a global stabilization of food prices and fewer conflicts in competition over resources and markets.  


This famine demonstrates that we have reached a place of no return; it is time to address our broken food system.  Let's not support more of the same policies that continue to leave 1 in 7 people chronically hungry and unable to feed their children.  Let's ensure that everyone has the opportunity to grow food justly and a seat at the table in our future. 

Photo Source:  BBC News

Join us July 13th at our montly meeting!!!

July is here already - summer is half over and we still want to do so much more.  Please join us at our monthly meeting on July 13th at Barnes and Noble Cafe, DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL.  6:30 pm - 7:30 pm. 

This weekend we are tabling at the Dave Matthews Event!  8/7 we have a table scheduled for the Glenwood Sunday Market - We are firming up plans for Arlington Heights - and let's not forget our trip to the farm!  So come and bring all of your great ideas because we want to hear them all.

We will also be discussing how biofuels play a big part of the new Oxfam Grow campaign and how we can get involved with communication to our Senators and Representatives.

See you Wednesday the 13th. 

Chicago Tribune Editorial Endorses Oxfam Biofuels Position

The Chicago Tribune recently published an editorial, Gotta Eat, that agreed with Oxfam's negative stance on biofuels:

Even if Obama gets through this dangerous summer without a crisis, he can't keep running the same risks. The Oxfam International development agency recently predicted that global food prices will more than double within 20 years, citing everything from climate change to flat-lining yields. Breathless reports designed to sound an alarm naturally invite skepticism, but the biofuel part of Oxfam's analysis rings true.

The U.S. needs a comprehensive energy policy that ends our reliance on food for fuel. We need it now, and we will need it all the more in the future.