NEWS: Looking at Global Food Crisis

By: Joiya Reid, Akaria Stewart, Justin Bowles, Kamala Jannell, Ryan Kostensky

As a part of the Environmental Community Cinema Series, the Center for Sustainability at Georgia Southern recently showed the film, “10 Billion – What’s on your Plate?” which highlights the impending food crisis boring down on the world.

On a planet that hosts seven billion people, there is an estimate by the Food and Agriculture Organization that 870 million are malnourished in some way.

The problem behind the food crisis is that while supplies are dwindling, there is enough food to go around, but because of poverty and low income, food isn’t being distributed properly. Jade Boehmer, a student intern for the Center of Sustainability talked about this issue and why it’s important to be aware of the situation.

“I’m becoming more educated on that it’s not necessarily a shortage of food,” Boehmer said. “It's more so like distribution of food and access to food because we have a lot we just don’t distribute it properly.”

Many believe that spending more money on agriculture and the distribution can make a positive impact on lowering world hunger, but in order to fix the problem, there is more that needs to be done, including changing the very ways that food is produced.

One way this can be done is by supporting locally produced agriculture instead of buying from a big supplier. By buying local, the produce quality is generally much better than what is being shipped into the big chain grocery stores.

Supporting local farmers also benefits those doing the work, including local farm owner Don Jacobs. Jacobs, who grew up on a farm and grows seasonal fresh produce, has extensive agricultural knowledge and believes that there is something to buying locally.

“I think people still want fresh vegetables and stuff, Jacobs said. “Especially with your local farmers market. You get to know the farmer, you get to know the person that grew it.”

Another reason to buy from local farmers is to lower the global trade of produce such as fruit and vegetables. Lowering the amount of incoming food allows for the opportunity of those who need it to get it, as well as helping out the local economy for those producing locally.

Taking advantage of farmers’ markets or going to the small grocery stores is a way to help lower the food crisis, a thought that was echoed by a farmers’ market vendor himself.

James Stockton is a vendor at the farmers’ market, where he sells unique flavors of jams, but Stockton also shops locally whenever the local vendors have something he needs.

“If you don’t have farmers you don’t have food,” Stockton said. “You need to support your local economy otherwise it’s just going to fail.”

One factor that highlights the importance of solving the food crisis, and solving it quickly, is the severe change of weather due to global warming. Africa, specifically, has seen dry weather destroy their agricultural prospects, just adding to the issues.

Shopping for produce locally while rediverting food to those who need it are just two of the ways that the global food crisis can be solved, but with such a high number of malnourished people on this planet, there is more work to do.