UN Agencies: Global Hunger Rises for First Time in Decade

Global hunger levels have risen for the first time in more than a decade, now affecting 11 percent of the world’s population, as conflict, climate change and economic woes bite, UN agencies said.

North Korea drought: Children at risk in 'worst crisis since 2001'

North Korea is facing severe food shortages after being hit by its worst drought since 2001, a report from the United Nations says.

North Korea severely affected by drought since April

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Wednesday a severe drought has been affecting the country, in particular the southwest coast provinces, for two months, while a nationwide campaign for preventing drought damage is being organized by government.

Somalia drought: More than 100 die from hunger in one region

Somalia's Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Haire, says 110 people have died from hunger in a single region in the past 48 hours amid a severe drought.

UN agency concerned about food security in North Korea

The World Food Programme (WFP) said that it is concerned about the food security of families affected by floods in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), especially with winter approaching, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Sécheresse en Afrique australe: le pire est à venir, selon l'ONU

Les effets de la pire sécheresse de ces 35 dernières années en Afrique australe devraient s'aggraver dans les mois à venir, a alerté vendredi l'envoyé spécial des Nations unies pour El Niño et le climat, à l'issue d'un déplacement au Mozambique.

UN relief wing appeals for urgent funding in DPRK following typhoon

The United Nations humanitarian wing has said that more than $28 million in funding is urgently needed to provide immediate assistance to the 600,000 people in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea affected by Typhoon Lionrock.

Living on Locusts and Wild Honey: Swedes to Enjoy a Diet of Insects and Algae

With the world's population steadily on the rise, the Earth is reportedly heading towards its hardest food crisis in history. To combat the imminent food crisis, Swedish scientists advocate the consumption of algae and insects as a future source of protein. Remarkably, their fellow Swedes are not all averse to this weird diet.

El Niño Worsening Sub-Saharan Africa Food Crisis

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warns conditions are set to worsen for 60 million hungry people across sub-Saharan Africa as the El Niño weather phenomenon kicks in.

UN: Madagascar needs money to continue battle against locust plague

UN, 21 January 2015 – The battle against a plague of locusts in Madagascar is in danger of being lost, as funding to continue efforts against widespread infestations runs out, putting 13 million people at risk of food insecurity, the United Nations agricultural agency said today.

Climate-cooling policies threaten food supplies

By Viv Forbes

A warmer, wetter climate with more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would undoubtedly produce more plant growth and more food.

However climate-cooling policies that claim to prevent global warming by throttling the use of carbon fuels will definitely reduce food supply and increase food prices.

The promotion of ethanol for motor fuel is anti-food. This "food for fuel" program has absorbed significant quantities of corn, soy beans, sugar and palm oils. Consequently prices for ethanol crops are higher than they would otherwise be, encouraging farmers to convert land currently devoted to grazing animals and other food crops to growing more profitable crops for ethanol.

Can Insects Feed a Hungry Planet?

Earth’s population is ballooning every day, which increasingly presents a host of challenges, from housing to resource depletion to food.

The issue of feeding billions of people on a warming planet—along with related concerns such as food waste, water usage and greenhouse gas emissions—continues to be explored.

It has been widely established that factory farming contributes to climate change and even that eating less beef will benefit the environment. But what about eating … bugs. Bugs?

FAO: 'Revolution' in Agriculture Vital to Meet Food Targets

BANGKOK — The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO] says the world needs to boost agriculture production by 60 percent to meet its estimated food needs over the coming decades. The FAO says declining amounts of arable land and fresh water resources, however, create challenges.

The FAO says improving food security levels by 2050 may require a second "Green Revolution" to boost agricultural yields and feed the world’s expected nine billion people.

The so-called "Green Revolution" of the 1960s came with the introduction of industrial farming practices and high-yielding plant varieties, which helped farmers stay ahead of fast-growing populations.

Weather, increased demand pushes global food prices to highest level in months

 6 March 2014 – Global food prices in February rose to their highest level since mid-2012 as a result of unfavourable weather and increased demand, the United Nations food agency today reported.

In a news release, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said its most recent Food Price Index, which measures the monthly change in international prices of a basket of 55 food commodities, including meat, dairy, sugar, and cereals, averaged 208.1 points. That is about 5.2 points, or 2.6 per cent, higher than the slightly revised index for January.

Global food prices expected to remain volatile in coming years, warns UN official.

 

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7 October 2013 – Although global food prices have recently stabilized, they are expected to remain volatile over the next few years, the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today, as a ministerial meeting on global food prices kicked off in Rome.

Is the world heading towards another food crisis?

Too many countries have in history experienced the devastation of not only failed harvests, but also gross agricultural policy mismanagement.
The Great Famine of the 1930s in the Ukraine, which resulted in millions starving to death, is just one of many. It was a direct result of a political decision to impose a centralised and industrial agriculture model that obliterated centuries of farmers’ know-how. The results were so catastrophic that the Ukraine government describes it as genocide.
There is perhaps little wonder that Ukraine has been restricting wheat exports this year to maintain its own domestic stockpiles and prevent a rise in domestic bread prices following a heat wave and failed harvest.

Land sold off and used for biofuels could have fed 1 billion people – report

Indian labourers work in a field of Jatropha in the village of Hassan, some 250 kms from Bangalore. Jatropha, a wild shrub that grows abundantly across India, has been hailed as an eco-friendly solution to the energy needs. (AFP Photo / Mission Biofuels India)
2 million kilometers of foreign purchased land in developing countries is either idle or used for Western biofuel production, according to a British charity. Oxfam's report estimates an area the size of London is sold every six days.
The report states that between 2000 and 2010, 60% of investment in agricultural land by foreign traders occurred in developing countries with hunger problems.

US and EU must change biofuel targets to avert food crisis, says Nestlé chief

Nestlé, the world's largest food company, has added its weight to calls by the UN and development groups for the US and EU to change their biofuel targets because of looming food shortages and price rises.

"We say no food for fuel," said Paul Bulcke, chief executive of Nestlé, at the end of the World Water Week conference in Sweden. "Agricultural food-based biofuel is an aberration. We say that the EU and US should put money behind the right biofuels."