October 16th World Food Day and more and more people -- mostly women and children -- are going hungry. Yet while global food prices have shot up 83% over the past three years and food riots have spread around the world, neither of the leading presidential candidates have addressed the root causes of the world food crisis. McCain has remained silent, and Obama’s response this morning was to remind us that he supported an increase in Food Stamp provisions.
Take Action Now! Tell Senators McCain and Obama that real solutions to the food crisis are critical to solving the economic, energy, health and climate problems we face in the U.S. and around the world.
Our food system is broken. It handsomely rewards industrialized agribusiness and commodity traders while forcing family farms out of business, stripping impoverished countries and communities of the basic resources needed to grow food for human sustenance. Without concerted action, the global food crisis will only continue to mount because the problem is systemic and structural. It has arisen from a toxic mix of:
- speculation and deregulation in commodity food markets,
- promotion of expensive fertilizers and pesticides,
- the diversion of crops to agrofuel production, and
- trade policies that have pushed farmers to grow cash mono-crops (primarily soy and corn) for export.
This same food system is a major contributor to global deforestation and loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and depletion, and oceanic “dead zones” – all significant causal factors in climate change. With your help we can build the movement to demand a comprehensive fix from the next U.S. administration. PAN partners around the world call for the same.
Send your message today: Tell the presidential candidates to adopt a sustainable food policy platform. Your email will be delivered to Senators McCain and Obama.
Thank you for taking action!
