Cardinal tells Food Summit: ‘Africa needs water, not GM crops’ Posted

Independent Catholic News
At the Rome Food Summit which opened yesterday,  Cardinal Napier, Archbishop of Durban, said: “I have the impression that this organization does not know what the real problems of nutrition in Africa are. Africans do not need GMOs (genetically modified organisms), but water. We have our crops that grow well without genetic modifications, [...]

Farmers Not Invited to Food Summit?

InterPress Service
by Sabina Zaccaro
ROME – World farmers are not part of the official delegations at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) food summit on food security that opened here Monday. But they came anyhow to express their views, since, they say, it is their communities that are most impacted by the food crisis.
Small-scale producers from [...]

Corporate investors lead the rush for control over overseas farmland

GRAIN, October 2009
This table accompanies this article
With all the talk about “food security,” and distorted media statements like “South Korea leases half of Madagascar’s land,” it may not be evident to a lot of people that the lead actors in today’s global land grab for overseas food production are not countries or governments but corporations. [...]

Dwindling Fish Catch Could Leave a Billion Hungry

By Stephen Leahy
UXBRIDGE, Canada, Oct 9 (IPS) – Fish catches are expected to decline dramatically in the world’s tropical regions because of climate change, but may increase in the north, said a new study published Thursday.
This mega-shift in ocean productivity from south to north over the next three to four decades will leave those most [...]

Norman Borlaug: another subjective obituary

New Internationalist
Paul H Johnson argues that the glowing obituaries are only telling half the tale.

Norman Borlaug (centre) contemplates crops at the International Rice Research Institute. Called the ‘Father of the Green Revolution’, Norman Borlaug died on 12 September.

All of the poor people were going to starve. Then Norman invented some better seeds and everyone had [...]

Credit crunch is increasing world hunger, says CAFOD

Independent Catholic News
This Harvest, one billion people will be living with hunger. Catholic aid agency CAFOD warns the global financial crisis is pushing already poverty-stricken people over the edge.
As Harvest approaches, parishes and schools around the UK will be holding special events and collections to mark CAFOD’s annual Harvest Fast Day on 2nd October to [...]

Al Jazeera
Samah El-Shahat
A contradictory message from Obama

Until northern countries put their own house in order in terms of changing the policies applied to their farmers – Africa’s food dependence will continue, and it will always be blamed on Africa’s lack of good governance.

Aid agencies say G8 has used ‘language of procrastination

Independent Catholic News

Yesterday’s communiqué on global economy, climate change and aid contained a lot of good intentions and insufficient concrete statements, aid agencies are saying this morning. CAFOD has broken down the negotiating language to see just how solid the rich nations’ announcements are. The final communiqué contains:

AFRICA: Catholic Development Agencies Dismiss G8 Food Pledge

BRUSSELS, July 10, 2009 (CISA) -G8 leaders pledged USD 20bn Friday to boost food security in the world’s poorest countries, as African presidents and prime ministers and representatives of international bodies joined the group of rich industrialised countries to assess the impact of the global recession on the world’s poorest countries.

Multi-storey gardens save slum school children from hunger

Marathon runner Paul Tergat gives children of Stara Academy in Kibera some porridge when World Food Programme officials visited the school last month. WFP said the feeding programme helped keep children in school. Photo/JENNIFER MUIRURI