High and volatile food prices are one of the biggest political issues of 2011. The pressure points map can be embedded directly into any website to give audiences an easy way to raise their voice and take action on the food price crisis. The tool is part of Oxfam’s global GROW campaign to fix the broken food system.

“The poorest people from Kansas to Yemen are suffering the impacts of high and volatile food prices,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America. “Food price volatility has pushed tens of millions of people into poverty and contributed to violence and instability that is dangerous for global security and costly to American taxpayers. Meanwhile Congress has its head in the sand hoping for it all to go away.”

Food prices have hovered near an all time peak since late 2010 sending tens of millions of people into poverty. After decades of steady progress in the fight against hunger, the number of people without enough to eat is again rising and could soon again top one billion. Leaders from the US and other G-20 nations have delivered little more than band-aid solutions giving little hope to struggling communities.

The map displays countries that are highly vulnerable to price spikes, have seen price spikes contribute to violence or unrest, or have suffered extreme weather events that have contributed to price hikes. Some examples of the impacts the map reveals include:

• Yemen: One-third of the population—7.2 million people—suffers from acute hunger. In the capital city, imported wheat flour prices were 117% higher in May of 2011 than the previous year contributing to unrest in the country.
• Tanzania: Despite a strong economic performance, more than half the population lives in extreme poverty and is vulnerable to increasing food prices.
• Mozambique: In 2010, after record harvests, Mozambique was still slated to import almost a quarter of its food. Food prices are volatile because of both domestic production and import dependence.
• Russia: In most of Russia’s regions, the price of the average food basket went up by 20-30 percent between July 2010 and March 2011. Russian food prices remained high even after the Russian government introduced a grain export ban that led to a surge in prices on the international markets.
• Guatemala: Nearly half of children under 5 in Guatemala are chronically undernourished, and the proportion of the population suffering from malnutrition has been rising. In rural areas, up to 70 percent of children are malnourished.

/ENDS

Notes to editors

The map can be found here: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/articles/food-price-spikes

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To shed more light on the impacts of food price spikes, Oxfam has created an interactive map of Food Price Volatility Pressure Points. This map shows the impacts of price spikes in some of the countries where food prices have complicated the lives of poor people and offers a chance to take action on to help address price volatility.

The map shows are areas that are highly vulnerable to price spikes, countries that have had extreme weather events contribute to global price hikes and places that have seen price spikes contribute to violence or unrest that has shaken the foundation of global stability. While this map alone does not tell the full story of how price spikes have impacted our world, it offers a global snapshot to give us a better understanding of what is happening in communities near and far.

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What causes food price spikes?

Failed crops—often caused by our changing climate—hit food prices hard. So does the rising cost of oil—used to grow, fertilize and transport food.

Short-sighted biofuels strategies play a part too—taking food off of people's plates and putting it into car tanks. And dysfunctional commodities markets mean that food prices go up faster and higher than they should.

But despite all these complex causes, the effects on poor people are painfully simple. Parents choose between feeding their children and feeding themselves.

Whole communities face an uncertain future, because all anyone can think about is where their next meal will come from.

It's time to grow out of food price spikes.

The way to grow

Food price spikes happen because of things like climate change and rising oil prices—so a major part of the solution involves getting those root causes under control.

But what's also needed is more effective global handling of food price crises when they do happen. That way, the poorest families have somewhere to turn even when things do get desperate—and when they suddenly can't afford even the meager amount they could afford a week earlier.

For our world to grow together, we need to get food price spikes under control.

Achieving farm resilience requires building up the resilience of vulnerable farmers by developing their skills, expertise and voice while supporting their use of agro-ecological farming practices. Building resilience depends not just on how farmers manage resources, but on how well local, national, and global institutions support farmers. Agro-ecological practices can empower vulnerable small-scale farmers, offering them both greater control over their lives and an accessible means of improving their food security, while decreasing their risk of crop failure or livestock death due to climate shocks. Vulnerable farmers can use agro-ecological practices to build resilient farms and improve their livelihoods, achieving multiple benefits: 1. improved food security; 2. adaptation to a changing climate; and 3. mitigation of climate change.

People-centred resilience consists of five principles which should guide how investments in vulnerable farming communities are designed and implemented. They are:

1. Restored and diversified natural resources for sustainability.
2. Responsive institutions grounded in local context.
3. Expanded and improved sustainable livelihood options.
4. Sound gender dynamics and gender equality.
5. Farmer-driven decisions.

Following these principles ensures that investments support farmers in their efforts to become food-secure and adapt to climate change. Four institutions central to delivering people-centered resilience are: secure land rights; dynamic farmer associations; responsive agricultural advisory services; and public support for environmental services.

"Resuscitating Doha is essential to right the rigged rules of trade, but what's been simmering on the WTO stove will simply not deliver for poor countries, said Oxfam America president Raymond C. Offenheiser. "The financial crisis, which started in developed countries but is taking its worst toll on developing countries, should be the impetus for a change in course."

In a new report released today called "Empty Promises," Oxfam details how the Doha Round has become an exercise in prying open developing country markets rather than an effort to rebalance decades of unfair agricultural and industrial trade rules. In the midst of a global economic crisis, a food crisis, and a climate crisis, nations with the least blame and with the least capacity to cope with the consequent effects must not have to pay even more to enable their economies to develop, according to the report.

Over 50 million people stand to lose their jobs, remittances are collapsing, and growth in sub-Saharan Africa is predicted to fall by 70 percent this year trapping 90 million more people in poverty, because of the crisis. Food prices meanwhile remain high for poor consumers: by the end of 2008 a further 109 million people had been added to the ranks of hungry, topping 1 billion people worldwide. As the world experiences the sharpest drop in trade in 80 years, a "development" trade deal—as originally promised—remains crucial, according to Oxfam.

"Now is the time for WTO members to come back to the negotiating table, recognize that the current crisis provides an opportunity to address urgent development needs, and change the course of negotiations, much as they did nearly eight years ago in Doha," said Offenheiser. "At this time of desperate need for a change of course, the Doha Round has to step up to deliver on its development promise. There is little credit left for another failure."

The welcome political commitment from the G8 could lead to a fresh start to negotiations, but it cannot be business as usual. In the past eight years, developed countries have used the talks to continue to push to open up new export markets. Developing countries have resisted, saying they were promised a deal that would give them space to protect their farmers and new industries, an end to rich country trade-distorting agricultural subsidies, and more access to rich markets for their farmers and industries.

The widespread food price crisis has shown that food and livelihood security cannot depend solely on market forces. Development, rather than liberalization, has to be the central objective of negotiations and trade rules must respond to the needs of the most vulnerable people first and foremost, according to Oxfam. It is the responsibility of WTO member states to analyze the role of trade in the recent global crises so that the Doha negotiations take into account the new global context and contribute to a solution, rather than exacerbate the problem.

"What's on the table is no silver bullet since it continues to favor the richest and biggest farmers and industrialists in the US and Europe and sidelines the needs of the poor," said Offenheiser. "We have seen what can be done when countries find the resolve to avert problems at home, and this resolve must be translated to the multilateral trade agenda so that the much-needed conclusion of the Doha Round can be achieved in a manner that addresses developing country needs first and foremost."

After all, staff in the downtown Boston office of this international law firm are well taken care of. The firm has an in-house chef who cooks meals for employees in their office's first floor dining room—an elegant, softly lit space with windows overlooking Boston Harbor.

But that day Goulston & Storrs's employees arrived to find the dining room transformed. Framed images of people from developing countries lined the walls, while a slideshow about Oxfam America played out silently on a big screen. All of the usual dining tables had been cleared away, except for one.

Some of the firm's staff were already familiar with Oxfam, because Goulston & Storrs has provided the agency with pro bono legal support for many years. But that day they were about to experience a different kind of connection—the Oxfam America Hunger Banquet event.

Over the past 30 years the Oxfam America Hunger Banquet event has become one of Oxfam's tried and true awareness-raising tools. It is based on a simple, but powerful, idea: people come to a banquet and learn about hunger and poverty. Upon arrival, each guest randomly selects a card upon arrival assigning him or her to a different tier of the world's population—high, middle, or low income. Each guest is then served a meal corresponding to the chosen income group.

At Goulston & Storrs, 12 employees took their seats at the single dining table as members of the high-income group. As the banquet began, they were served a gourmet meal of grilled fish and sautéed vegetables.

By contrast, people in the so-called middle-income group were told to help themselves to plain rice and beans from buffet tables in the back of the room. They were directed to sit on folding chairs to eat, their plates balanced in their laps.

Finally, another 20 or so people in the low-income group were told to sit on the floor of the dining room. They were given cups of water to share, and a communal bowl of rice from which to scoop out single servings. Each person received a small amount of rice, but there was not quite enough to go around.

To those seated at the high-income able, this unequal dining was especially disconcerting. Although their food looked and smelled delicious, no one wanted to be the first to dig in. "It was awkward to see others sitting there with so little. We were uncertain if we should even eat," said Dan Hampson, who works on new business development for Goulston & Storrs.

As the guests contemplated these differences, Oxfam's senior vice president of programs John Ambler spoke about the meaning of the Oxfam America Hunger Banquet event.

"You might think that hunger and poverty are about too many people and too little food. But in fact, this planet produces enough food for everyone," Ambler said. "Instead, hunger is about power. Its roots lie in unequal access to education and resources, and in unjust policies that deny people their human rights."

Still, he added, hope comes from the people who dedicate their time to fighting poverty and injustice, both at Oxfam and at places like Goulston & Storrs.

"Poverty is a problem we can solve if we do something for others, not just for ourselves," he said. "This is something we should all remember, especially during the holiday season."

Although Goulston & Storrs employees are for the most part unaccustomed to going hungry at lunch, they didn't feel disappointed by the experience.

"I'm glad that my colleagues had a chance to learn more about Oxfam America," said attorney Martha Frahm, who provides pro bono legal assistance to the Oxfam America Advocacy Fund. "Working with Oxfam is my favorite part of my job, because it reflects my own values."

Dan Hampson agreed. "It speaks to what type of institution Goulston & Storrs is that they work so closely with Oxfam, and that they were willing to do something like this to show us what that work is all about.

"It was strange to see some of my friends and colleagues going without food, while others had plenty," Hampson added, looking over at the group of people who now stood chatting in the center of the room. "To have such a gulf between us left a huge impression."