by Marie Devine

Created on: May 25, 2008

The global food crisis in our times is more often not a lack of food; it is a need to remove the obstacles to having that food available. Poverty comes in many forms and from many sources. For some it is the sudden loss of a job or home in a nation of affluence. Addictions or medical expenses rob a family of money needed for food. The need to emigrate because of war, floods, droughts, earthquakes, volcanoes, lack of employment, or political conflicts and occupations often places people in temporary communities where assistance is needed for the daily provision.

The most obvious obstacle we are now experiencing is a rapid increase in transportation costs to deliver food and supplies and an increase in the cost of the supplies because of fuel costs and food production being diverted to create biofuels for transportation vehicles. This all makes a donation less effective in serving the need. In war and natural disasters, destroyed roads, bridges, shelters, medical facilities, and such present another obstacle to reaching those in need.

Discussions on ways to end hunger were the focus in Rome in 1996 where 180 nations met for the World Food Summit (WFS). By 2015 they hope to cut in half the number of undernourished people. . The goals were reaffirmed five (5) years later as set out in the "Rome Declaration on World Food Security" and the "World Food Summit Plan of Action." Sustainable development, promoting fair trade system, prevention of natural disasters and other emergencies that threaten food security are their lofty and perhaps nave goals. An excellent resource with many links is at ResearchSEA at http://www.researchsea.com/html/article.php/aid/3145 /cid/1

In May 2008 alone we saw the rice crop of Myanmar (Burma) destroyed by a typhoon and an earthquake in China devastated a large area. Between the two disasters, well over two million will need prolonged food assistance, over 100,000 have died, and multitudes are out of homes to live in. In spite of lofty goals and technology, man cannot conquer the global food crisis or other world problems with technology.

There are ways to provide more food for the poor today and to have abundance for the whole planet in the future. Ninety percent (90%) of United States grain goes to feed livestock and one-third (1/3) of Africa's peanut crop feeds cattle in Western Europe. We can change our ways. This is an important consideration for several reasons:

1.) According to Dr. D.C. Jarvis, this feeding of grains instead of letting

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