Inequalities: In an increasingly asymmetrical world, a distorted food system ends up killing millions of people

ROME – 783 million people went hungry in 2022, while 600 million people will be chronically undernourished in 2030. The numbers emerging from the new Fao reports on the “State of food security and nutrition of the world”, describe an emergency that is becoming increasingly structural. The global context therefore indicates that inequalities and the impact of the climate crisis are increasing, with some regions of the planet such as the Horn of Africa paying the highest price. It is the alarm raised by oxfamtogether with an urgent appeal to Governments to intervene as soon as possible to correct the increasingly glaring distortions of a deeply unjust global food system, which allows very few to get rich and, in fact, kills millions of people.

The weight of the interests of the industrial giants. “It is simply shameful that in a world of food abundance and even great waste, governments continue to put the interests of the big giants and billionaires of agribusiness and energy before those of the most vulnerable people, exponentially widening the inequalities between a few privileged people and billions of people in the poorest part of the world who cannot afford to eat regularly every day or are literally dying of hunger at this precise moment”, comments Francesco Petrelli, expert on food security policies at Oxfam Italy.

Rainfall profits for the big names in the agri-food sector. In 2022, large food and energy companies more than doubled their profits and 18 of the largest food and beverage giants alone achieved, on average, over $14 billion a year in extra profits in the two-year period 2021-2022. with average food prices rising 14%. But what have the richest and most influential states done to correct these distortions? Little or nothing is the answer.

The emergency in the Horn of Africa. The impact of the climate crisis is outpacing the humanitarian response capacity and increasingly structural distortions are overtaking the response capacity of the humanitarian system in the most severe crisis areas such as the Horn of Africa.

– In Somaliaone of the countries least responsible for accelerating climate change (with only 0.05% of total global emissions), is experiencing the most severe drought in the last 40 years which is bringing 1 in 3 people to the brink of famine .

– Throughout East Africa over 8 million children under five – almost the entire population of Switzerland – and 36 million people in total suffer from acute malnutrition, with 1 person every 28 seconds at risk of starving to death in the coming months. Furthermore, 13.2 million head of livestock and thousands of hectares of crops have been lost due to the lack of rain in the last 2 years.

In Kenya, The economic cost of the loss of livestock is estimated to be over $1.5 billion to date.

– In Ethiopia, (as in Somalia) agriculture employs 67% and 80% of the population respectively, but large portions of arable land depend solely on rainfall to be productive. The consequence is that food prices on local markets have skyrocketed, many schools in these countries are closed and minimal subsistence skills no longer exist, causing mass displacement from the most affected rural areas: 1.75 million people they were forced to leave their homes in search of water and food.

Solutions exist, just start them. “Solutions to end hunger in the world exist, but they require courageous, coordinated and united political action – concludes Petrelli – for this reason we ask Governments to fully finance the UN’s appeals for humanitarian emergencies: to face the food crisis in the Horn of Africa, for example, in the coming months, donor countries have allocated a third of what is necessary to save lives, just 2.4 billion dollars out of 7. Firstly – adds Petrelli – by supporting small agricultural producers, protecting rights of peasant women, the real key to the fight against food insecurity in many countries”.

Plus taxes for extra profits. “At the same time – insists the report of oxfam – it is crucial that the extra profits achieved by large companies in recent years in all sectors, starting with the agri-food and energy sectors, are taxed. Only in this way will it be possible to guarantee the poorest countries the resources necessary to adequately face the impact of the climate crisis and the food crisis. An action that must be combined with the cancellation of the burden of foreign debt for low and middle-income states and the implementation of stringent measures to block those who are speculating on the global market, inflating food prices”.