This year’s 16th October World Food Day theme, "The Right to Food,” highlights a basic human right that is often ignored as severe food insecurity continues to afflict more than 850 million people.
“As an exporter of many staple foods, Australia has an obligation to importing countries to aggressively tackle climate change in order to maintain a strong agricultural sector,” said Upper House Greens MP Ian Cohen.
“This is particularly important for Low-Income Food-Deficit countries (LIFCDs) where basics like bread are becoming increasing expensive due in part to the global warming problems afflicting Australian producers right now.
“There are many reasons for the major parties to get serious about climate change, World Food Day today reminds us that maintaining capacity to help feed the world is one of them.
“The severity of the drought afflicting our own food bowl - the Murray Darling Basin – is bad news for farmers, rural communities and families struggling to pay the grocery bills.
“The dramatic downgrading of wheat forecasts in Australia will only exacerbate the global problem of wheat inventories at a 25 year low.
“A UNFAO report issued on the 5th October called Crop Prospects and Food Situation is predicting that the countries that can least afford it will be hit hardest by a cereal import price rise of 14% over last year’s already high prices.
“Competition for food crops from the biodiesel industry – especially maize - is another climate related issue affecting affordability of staple foods. There needs to be more work on the development of second generation biofuels as a way of overcoming the tension between food and fuel crops.
Further Information: Ian Cohen: 0409 989 466
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