The importance of family farming is the theme of today's World Food Day, as international organizations collaborate to draw attention to the critical role small scale family farms play in solving world hunger and addressing global food security.
Globally, 500 million of the 570 million farms worldwide are family farms, responsible for growing produce and grain, raising livestock and managing fisheries but also for harvesting non-wood forest products.
“Every year, we witness hunger’s devastating effect on families, communities and whole economies,” said WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin. “But despite horrific crises engulfing entire regions, we are making real progress in the fight to sustainably and durably end hunger and chronic malnutrition. Thanks to the work we do with our partners on emergency preparedness, support to family farmers, nutritional assistance – particularly in a child’s first 1,000 days – and building the resilience of communities to withstand shocks, millions of people are now better able to focus on building a future free of hunger for themselves and the next generation.”
While the Global Food Index released earlier this week showed some improvements in the scope of hunger worldwide, the statistics remain staggering.
1. 1 in 9 people (805 million) are starving
2. 2 billlion people are afflicted with 'hidden hunger:" deficiencies in microntrients due to lack of access to the ingredients of a diet composed of adequate quantis of vitamins, protein and minterals.
3. Malnutrition has stunted the growth of 26% of the world's children
4. Approximately 70% of food insecure populations reside in rural Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Near East.
And according to the Cost of Hunger in Africa (COHA) report, hunger can reduce a country's workforce by 9.4% and national GDPs by up to 16.5%
Here's a brief overview of some of today's campaigns.
Reclaim Power has aligned its actions today with the family farmer and international peasant organization La Via Campesina in a World Day of Action For Food Sovereignty and against transnational corporations.
"Climate change and its impacts is increasingly hurting our capacity to grow and cultivate food - but so-called 'solutions' to climate change are also devastating many communities and their food sovereignty. On World Food Day this year, October 16, Reclaim Power partners will be taking actions against two of these false solutions - "megadams" and "agrofuels." (Actions today are happening in Peru, South Africa and Canada)
Oxfam: Season of Action Against Hunger
As part of World Hunger day, Oxfam is taking a multi-pronged approach, urging families to "Start a conversation, try a recipe, and raise awareness."
• Join with family members and invite friends to share a meal and discuss:
1. Where does our food come from?
A lot of energy is wasted trying to grow food in the wrong place, or at the wrong time of year. Do you know where any of the ingredients in this meal come from? How much of the food we’re eating is grown in the US, and how much is grown in other countries? If you could only buy food within a 100-mile radius, or within a 1,000-mile radius, how would it change your diet and life choices? Are any of the ingredients in this meal in season right now? How might we change the way we cook depending on what’s in season?
2. Who grows our food?
About 1.5 billion women and men live and work on small farms around the world. When you picture a farmer, who do you see? What kind of crops do farmers grow in our community or state? When was the last time you bought something grown on a nearby farm? What dishes did you make using these ingredients?
3. In recognition of the important role small scale family farms play in addressing global hunger, The UN has established 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming.
For example, when small-scale farmers receive fair prices for their produce, they are better able to buy food for their own families. What might be some of the differences between being a family farmer here in the US and being a family farmer in a developing country? What do you think these farmers have in common? Does your family grow any food, and if so, what do you grow? What are some ways your family can support farming families when you shop and eat?
4. Despite the fact that world famers are still capable of growing enough food for everyone, every night 1 in 8 people still go to to bed hungry.
What are some of the reasons that people go hungry? Can you name some places in the world where people are experiencing hunger right now? Can anyone share an experience of witnessing hunger, here in the US or elsewhere? What are some specific things we as individuals can do to help end hunger for others, locally and globally?
5. Nearly 1/3 of food never makes it to the plates of people who most need it:
How often do you throw out food? Where do you see the most food waste in your home and in your community? What kind of meal could you make with the leftovers from this dinner so that no food is wasted? What strategies could help your family to waste less food?
• Change your food choices:
Oxfam's GROW program focuses on how folks can help small-scale farmers right from their kitchen tables by not wasting food, shopping seasonally, eating less, and makeing changes to their culinary repertoire by sampling new recipes using ingredients which will benefit family farmers. (see sample menus)
• Donate: Respond to a crisis: As the people from South Sudan cope with the catastrophes and displacement from ongoing conflict, many have been uprooted from their homes and unable to plant their fields. Your donations can help nearly seven million people are at risk of severe food insecurity.
World Food Program' (WFP) Call for Zero Hunger Campaign
The WFP's zero hunger campaign this year has aligned with corporate partners Unilever, and Knorr (asking employees and the public to pledge support to end global hunger); Michael Kors (soliciting support from customers with purcases or in store donation); and Yum! Brands (rallying people to raise funds for the WFP VIA THE #PassTheRedCup social media campaign.
Sample Tweets
#Climate risks #foodsovereignty False solutions endanger it too. On #WorldFoodDay take action to stop megadams and agrofuels. #ReclaimPower
Megadams displace people, disrupt communities + threaten #foodsovereignty. Not a solution. #ReclaimPower for real #climate solutions.
Agrofuels fuel poverty and hunger. Stop false #climate solutions and protect #foodsovereignty. On #WorldFoodDay we will #ReclaimPower
Facebook Posts
Scientist Sanjaya Rajaram is now widely recognized by the international agriculture sector for his prolific contributions to food security and poverty alleviation. He is credited with producing a remarkable 480 wheat varieties, which have boosted worldwide yields by more than 180 million metric tons (200 million tons). These increased yields provide food to more than 1 billion people each year. The varieties Rajaram developed during his 40-year career have been released in 51 countries on six continents. They are used by farmers with both large and small land holdings who rely on disease-resistant wheat adaptable to a range of climate conditions.For those feats and more Rajaram is the 2014 World Food Prize Laureate, an honor awarded each year to the person who does the most to advance human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. http://www.trust.org/... #WorldFoodDay #WFD2014
Scientists with the International Center for Maize & Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) are engaged in an international five-year project to develop climate-resilient wheat. They estimate that in tropical and sub-tropical regions, wheat yields will decrease by 10 percent for each 1-degree rise in minimum night-time temperature, which means that production levels could decline by 30 percent in South Asia. About 20 percent of the world’s wheat is produced in the region. http://www.trust.org/... #WorldFoodDay #WFD2014
Building upon the momentum generated by the People's Climate March, The Climate Action Hub @ DailyKos is a new space to accommodate the groundswell of activism inspired by civil society around the September 21 UN Climate Summit. The Hub will provide space to amplify messaging from NGOs, eco writers, scientists and bloggers here at DK and elsewhere and promote upcoming actions in the lead up to the UNFCCC 2015 Climate Talks in Paris.
Interested in participating? Click here and check out some of the folks who have already signed on to!.
Diaires in this Week’s Climate Action Series:
Yeb Sano Marches on for Climate Awareness: Reclaim Power Takes on Nuclear Energy
Stand with the Pacific Island Warriors
Global Hunger Index Released: A long Way to Go ...
Global Frackdown: Reclaim Power Day 2
Reclaim Power WorldvsBank