How bad is the hunger situation?

The global hunger situation is bad.

“Ethiopia, Eritrea, DRC, Sierra Leone, Burundi and Chad are categorized as being in a state of extremely alarming levels of hunger in the newly released 2009 Global Hunger Index by the International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI). Twenty-nine countries around the world have
alarming or extremely alarming levels of hunger, and 13 countries have actually
seen increases in their hunger levels since 1990, according to the report.” (http://en.afrik.com/article16339.html)

And it might be getting even worse.

“More than 90% chance that by the end of the century, average growing-season temperatures would be hotter than the most extreme levels recorded in the past. […] Hotter temperatures will seriously diminish
the world's ability to feed itself. […] Battisti and Naylor looked at the
effect that major heat waves have had on agriculture in the past — like the
ruthless heat in Western Europe during the summer of 2003 — and found that crop
yields have suffered deeply. […] With these frightening predictions in mind, we
need to try to heat-proof our agriculture. That can be accomplished by using
crops that have proved resistant to extreme heat — like sorghum or millet — to
breed hybrid-crop varieties that are more capable of withstanding higher
temperatures.” (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1870766,00.html#ixzz0m2cxWT2X)

But there are initiatives that try to strengthen our ability to feed the world.

“Members of the Farming First coalition believe that:

1. Agriculture generally, and farmers especially, are vital to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
2. Increasing farm productivity in a sustainable way and decreasing waste and losses can significantly mitigate the effects of climate change, prevent
   deforestation, and protect biodiversity.
3. Adopting proven sustainable agricultural practices reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and enhances the effect of natural carbon sinks.
4. Further research and innovation are essential to invent the necessary adaptation and mitigation solutions.

The Farming First coalition would like to bring forward a series of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies in accordance with its six-point action plan for enhancing sustainable development
through agriculture. “In line with these six principles, we encourage
stakeholders to pursue policies which achieve long-term global sustainability
goals through proven techniques:
1. Safeguard natural resources
2. Share knowledge
3. Build local access and capacity
4. Protect harvests
5. Enable access to markets
6. Prioritize research imperatives

The Farming First coalition calls on all governments […] to:

1. Support the unique role of agriculture in the global climate change response.

2. Encourage the use of all available and applicable climate change solutions.

3. Promote funding mechanisms which support the needs of all levels and forms of farming.

4. Reward resource-based productivity improvements as a direct contributor to climate-change effectiveness.

5. Invest in capability sharing to encourage all farmers to play a role in climate change while safeguarding local and global food security.” (www.farmingfirst.org/climate)

And you can do something about this problem yourself. First find out what the biggest food challenges in your area are. Then do something to improve the situation (ACT).

I held an interview with a coordinator at the Food Bank of the Netherlands. He told me the following things:

There is still enough stock at this Food Bank, but the decline in attention it
is getting (because of less thought about hunger by society) does influence the
kind of packages we can put together (canned vegetables instead of fresh
vegetables). There should be more acknowledgement of this problem, because food
is a basic right of human beings. Only a small percentage of the people on
earth are using a huge part of the food on earth (unequal spreading) and that
is unfair. People should have a good heart en be willing to share. A Food Bank
shouldn’t even be necessary, but it is.

If someone requests food at the Food Bank, it is processed that same day. There are almost no suppliers that are willing to offer large amounts of free food, so most of the money that is needed to get food has
to be obtained by thinking creatively. The Food Bank is the only organization
in the Netherlands (on a large scale) that gives free food to the people that
are dependent of this service. There are other organizations that offer food on
a large scale, but they always ask (at least) a small price.

The Food Bank needs more Order Pickers that help with sorting supplies en checking if the supplies, that the Food Bank receives, are in good condition. Volunteers are very welcome.

The situation in the Netherlands isn’t one of the worst, but it does need improvement.