The FAO World Food Security Summit was held in Rome from 3 to 5 June 2008.
After three days of meetings, the delegates of the 181 countries taking part in the event have drawn up a final declaration calling on the right to food. But not everyone is completely satisfied about the results.
Although the financial resources to fight hunger and boost agriculture in the countries hardly hit by the food crisis have been renewed, NGOs organizations do not approve the declaration stating that it only re-confirms the commitment that governments had already agreed on, but does not provide any specific guidelines. As a matter of fact, it is not clear how the financial aid will be spent in order to contain the food and energy crisis.
Only a little has been said about global warming and biofuels, although they should have been the main issues to be discussed during the summit. In the declaration, biofuels are mentioned only at the seventh point and only to recommend further studies on the impact they have on the environment, on agriculture and on the rise of food prices. Data also differ according to the source: the US claims that biofuels affect the rise of food costs (calculated at 43%) of about 3%, while the Food Policy Research Institute states that the figure is definitely higher (about 30%) and the International Monetary Fund estimates it between 15 and 30%.
However, some positive results have been achieved like a new collaboration between AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa) and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development), and WFP (World Food Programme). Moreover, Kofi Annan e Jacques Diouf (FAO Director- General) wished for a “green revolution” in Africa in order to boost and improve the working conditions of farm workers and to create a market that could stimulate the production in areas with relatively good rainfall, soils, infrastructure, and markets.
With the current uncertainties with food prices there is a greater need for us to conserve and be increasingly economical about food consumption at home. We have become wasteful as consumers of food and have never really had a need to feel otherwise before this crisis started. Blaming the rampant consumerism of the supermarkets has now irrelevant in this discussion. The situation now is that if we don’t change our food habits this situation could easily escalate completely out of control. The responsibility is now on us all to change our food buying and food consuming habits.
Simple food saving tips are things we need to get used to and practice more regularly. Most of these are common sense and can be quite creative. You can find a list of free food saving tips at sites such as http://www.foodcrisis.co.uk amongst other similar sites as well.
We all need to contribute to a fairer and more food wise program for ourselves.