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The rising cost of food . . .
If you had to spend 50 to 80 percent of your income on
food, and then the cost of that food doubled, what would you do to survive?
Rice is the staple food for half the people in the
world, and its price more than doubled from January to May this year. The
story for other staple foods is not much different.
More than one billion people live on less than $1 per
day, and most of their money is spent on food. Can you even imagine
how their lives are affected by this rapid increase in price?
There are a number of reasons for the increase in food
prices.
The high price of oil is pushing up the cost of crop
production, because of its impact on the cost of fertilizer and transport.
Several grain-exporting countries have been hit by severe weather, and
yields are down.
The world’s growing appetite for meat and dairy
products is increasing the demand for feed grain. The exploding biofuel
industry is gobbling up huge amounts of grain and oilseeds, leaving less
land for food production.
Additional impacts are being felt because of
unsupportive global trade policies on agriculture in developing countries,
and speculation in the global food market.
As Christians, we hear Jesus’ voice reminding us
to care for the sick, the hungry and the stranger, saying: “Just as
you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you
did it to me.”
To respond to Jesus’ call, consider offering
support to those most impacted by the global food crisis, through
organizations like Canadian Foodgrains Bank – whose mission can be
summed up in two words: end hunger.
Visit foodgrainsbank.ca for more info, or to donate
online.
Summer/Fall 2008
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