LONDON —

Oxfam launched an urgent appeal to mark U.N. World Food Day Thursday, saying the financial crisis had sent food costs soaring and the global total of people in hunger to nearly one billion people.

The British-based aid and development charity said rising food prices had pushed an extra 119 million people into hunger, meaning 967 million people were now living below the hunger line.

In “Double Edged Prices,” a report being launched in London, Oxfam argued that the increase in food costs had seen some international companies quadruple their profits while the world’s poor were pushed further into destitution.

Oxfam said it needed an extra 15 million pounds ($26.2 million) to fund its development and humanitarian work on food and agriculture, and to campaign for changes to “flawed trade and agricultural polices” afflicting poor farmers.

“These are tough times for many of us, but huge increases in food prices mean that the world’s poorest are being hit hardest,” said Oxfam chief executive Barbara Stocking, saying anything people could give would make a difference.

Oxfam slammed the international community’s response to the food problem, comparing the $12.3 billion pledged in Rome earlier this year—and the $1 billion it said has been disbursed so far—to the vast sums made available in days to bail out Western banks.

The charity said higher food prices meant people were eating less and lower quality food, while children were being pulled out of school and farmers were migrating to city slums.

In “Double Edged Prices,” Oxfam said all governments, donors and agencies had to learn lessons from the financial crisis and invest in agriculture, adopt trade policies that ensure food security, and design social security systems that protect the poorest.

“The trend in agriculture, as in international finance, has been towards deregulation and a reduced role for the state,” Stocking said.

“This has had devastating effects and innocent lives have been blighted by exposure to market volatility.

“It is time the world woke up to the need for developing country governments to support their poor farmers, and the obligation of developed countries to help them to do so.

“Where there has been unmanaged trade liberalization, underinvestment in agriculture, and little support from government, the effects have been devastating.”

Wire reports

9 Comments

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  GeorgeRoper at 08:39 AM JST - 16th October

  I often go to the Oxfam at Hampton Wick, you can get really good bargains,a dn your helping starving people in far off lands.

  Blimey, i get laods of anniversary and birthday presents from Oxam for Mildred. She doesn't mind, they are second hand, it's the thought that counts innit!

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  coulrophobic at 05:19 PM JST - 16th October

  I don't know a single person outside of the UK who takes Oxfam seriously, except a couple of Canadians.

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  goodDonkey at 06:55 PM JST - 16th October

  That is very sad. I am glad that Oxfam admonishes the world for not doing more. I honestly believe we have enough resources to help the hungry. If we all give a little we could get those resources to the various NGO's and they can help feed the hungry. Again I think part of the mission, when you are feeding the hungry, is to make it well known that we are not doing enough.

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  Good_Jorb at 11:32 PM JST - 16th October

  I do not think that is we are not doing enough, the problem is that food aid helps perpetuate the problem it seeks to solve. If a country where people live is incapable of sustaining a certian level of population, it should naturally allow its population to adjust to a level that is sustainable. Food aids allows populations to continually grow and become increasingly unsustainable, when at first there may have been only 100,000 straving people now there is 200,000 straving people and if the world starts to run out food (assumable if the world population continues to grow), there is an extra 100,000 people(only an examaple) that will die. Teach farming techniques, reduce the cost of farming equipment, do things that will increase the level of sustainability.

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  OgieDoggie at 03:08 AM JST - 17th October

  Good_Jorb hits the nail on the head with his comment...finally someone with a common sense approach.

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  rajakumar at 03:58 AM JST - 20th October

  967,000,000 people now facing woes with food supply abundance due to lack of work/cash incomes.

  The nations/people of world must work together to up economic activities of all types for these 967 million people ,for incomes/cash/work to tap into food supply abundance.

  Food production must be increased in the nations where the 967 million people live.

  There need to more brainstorm dynamic ideas followed by action of all sorts,to solve the woes of 967 million people.

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  gcctoday at 01:12 PM JST - 28th October

  3.83 pounds of food was produced per global human during 2004. Don’t believe this estimation? Data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. and census estimates were used for calculations. Please review the math and references at the Global Cooperative Commentary http://www.humanitytest.org/blog/archives/99. Our capacity to end world famine is revealed.

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  gcctoday at 01:24 PM JST - 28th October

  ... That's an average of 3.83 pounds of food was produced per global human PER DAY during 2004.

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  Nessie at 02:01 PM JST - 28th October

  Billion going hungry on World Food Day, says Oxfam

  This happened last year, too. They should stop having these days. So many people seem to go hungry on them.

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