Energy habits are fuelling food crisis

WORLD Environment Day this year should pierce the minds of more Australians than ever before. As we feel the pinch at the petrol pump our leaders are flinging solutions at us such as tax cuts and biofuels. In the meantime, across the globe, there is a massive food crisis brewing that is already threatening 100 million people.

The two patterns are intimately linked. In our quest for fuel we are creating a global food shortage and driving the world’s poorest towards a famine. It is incumbent on rich developed nations like ours to radically rethink the way we live on this planet. There is plenty for everyone, but we will not feed the poorest in the world if we do not change the way we act both globally and locally. Globally, we must work to end market distortions.


Restrictions and bans on food exports are a growing problem. At the Food Summit in Rome this week UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged world leaders to stop trade barriers and price controls. This is a well-informed plea because trade restrictions push international prices up further.

Already the price of food commodities on the international market has risen by 83% in the past three years. The price of rice doubled in the first four months of this year.

The Age