Index Tracks Hunger Indicators

The world has made little progress in reducing hunger since 1990, a new report said on Oct. 14, pointing to 29 countries with alarming levels of malnutrition, mainly in Africa and South Asia. Those countries also are most vulnerable to the impact of historically high food and energy prices, as well as economic recession –

Global Food Security Plans Too Narrow

Global plans to reduce hunger by boosting food production are too narrowly focused on farming without considering how to slow population growth or halt climate change, longtime environmental analyst Lester Brown said Sept. 29. The Obama administration and leaders of other wealthy nations have promised to spend more money and coordinate efforts to reduce the


Starvation In An Age Of Plenty

Other countries’ domestic and foreign policies are often at the root of food disasters What is it about Africa? With its tropical climate and rich soil, it should be able to feed its teeming millions many times over. Yet too often Africa becomes a metaphor for famine and hunger. In 1984-85 a horrified world responded

G8 Promises A $20-Billion Chance To Beat Odds On Hunger

Last week’s promise by the world’s wealthiest nations to spend $20 billion on impoverished farmers represents a chance to tackle chronic hunger, but leaders face daunting odds to make the pledge count. The back-to-basics three-year commitment by G8 governments to aid small farmers in Africa and parts of Asia – sparked in part by riots



International Trade Helps Solve Food Crisis

International trade is part of the solution to the global food crisis and not one of its causes, the head of the World Trade Organization says. Global integration represented by trade enabled food to be transported from where it could be produced efficiently to where there was demand, said WTO Director General Pascal Lamy. Geography


PAMI Eyes National SCC Accreditation

The agency that tests and helps develop Prairie manufacturers’ new equipment plans to open up greater market access for its clients by getting its Standards Council of Canada (SCC) accreditation. The Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI), which operates at Humboldt, Sask. and at Portage la Prairie, has picked up a joint federal/provincial investment of $65,000

Humanitarian addresses AMM convention

“I have come to far more fully to understand and have respect for the tremendous power at the community level.” – STEPHEN LEWIS, CO-DIRECTOR, AIDS-FREE WORLD Canada’s former ambassador has made an impassioned plea to municipal leaders, urging them to support international efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. Stephen Lewis was a guest


UN food lines will grow

The UN food agency expects to feed around a third more hungry people next year, as the global financial crisis adds to the pressure of high food prices on poor nations, a top official said Oct. 15. Sheila Sisulu, deputy executive director at the UN World Food Program (WFP), said an increase of around 30

World Bank sees tougher times in developing nations

“What we’re now moving into is the phase where one has to look more broadly at the danger of developing country growth and there it depends on policies they take and the support we and others can give them.” With world attention trained on resolving a financial crisis in western economies, World Bank president Robert