Today I read about one extreme effect of rising food prices. In Haiti, ‘mud cakes’ have become a staple for some poor families. These ‘cakes’ are made of dried clay, water, salt and vegetable shortening or margarine. They are eaten simply to fill stomachs.This problem is not about a shortage of food, from the Guardian –
According to the UN, two-thirds of Haitians live on less than 50p a day and half are undernourished. “Food is available but people cannot afford to buy it. If the situation gets worse we could have starvation in the next six to 12 months,” said Prospery Raymond, country director of the UK-based aid agency Christian Aid.
A country that is starving cannot function. A country cannot develop when there are children are too hungry to concentrate in class. This is discussed in the same Guardian article, which heartbreakingly quotes a teacher in Port-au-Prince saying, “I use jokes to try to stimulate my students, to wake them up.”
The problem is increased by Haiti’s dependence on food imports. In the 1980s tariffs were lifted. This meant that Haitian consumers were able to buy cheaper goods, but has created a vulnerability. Haiti can produce very little itself if need be, although there is a little hope in the form of some growth in the dairy industry of Haiti.
This is inequality beyond our wildest nightmares or understanding. Any system that allows children to eat dirt while spare food exists must be challenged. This situation shows that the conception of human security and flourishment is not satisfied by insisting upon profit and nations at all costs. Those of us lucky enough to live in developed countries, to study at universities, to use the internet, to choose what to have for dinner, owe these people our help.
Some statistics:
- According to the United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 2007/2008 2.6 billion, 40% of the world’s population, live on less than US$2 a day, around 28% of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted with round 10 million under-fives dying each year, most from poverty and malnutrition.
- “The 40 percent of the world’s population living on less than US$2 a day accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income.”
- “The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (567 million people) is less than the wealth of the world’s 7 richest people combined.”
- “Income inequality is also rising within countries. Income distribution influences the rate at which economic growth translates into poverty reduction. More than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where income differentials are widening.”
1, 2 + 4: United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 2007/2008: Fighting climate change, Human Solidarity in a Divided World
3:http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Facts.asp
