FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Ms. Chita Dela Cruz-Heap

A Question of Survival

It might be that you are uninformed, that you do not follow the news,or that you simply do not care, but whatever the reason might be, it is time to wake up.In fact it is time for all of us to wake up, because there is simply too much at stake for us all. The truth is that for whatever the reason, the world’s food producers are unable to meet the world’s current demand for food.

Extensive fires have raged across Russia destroying much of their wheat harvest, resulting in an export ban on wheat due to the unavailability of an adequate supply. Restrictions have also been placed on the export of rice from Thailand, the
main supplier for South East Asia, owing to a prolonged drought earlier this year.Here in the Philippines too our production has decreased as a consequence of changing weather patterns.

As people in emerging countries become wealthier their eating patterns change; they also tend to eat more. This, together with the impact of global warming and a relentless rise in the world’s population, have created a situation where ‘food security’ has become an issue of increasing concern.

Not only has climate change affected yield, but it will continue to do so as our planet continues to get hotter and as rainfall becomes less predictable. The use of agricultural land for growing plants bio-fuels is also a contributory factor.
In 2007 a world food crisis caused the cost of rice in India to treble within a period of five months, and around the world it was a similar story with food prices having doubled over the proceeding three year period.

The shortage of rice was such that the exportation of rice was banned by a number of countries including India, Egypt, and Thailand, the latter being South East Asia’s biggest net exporter of rice. South East Asia’s biggest net importer of rice is the Philippines, a country that was once able to support it’s own population.

In Europe some 15 to 17% of family income is spent on food, and although the rising cost of food may cause some inconvenience, there is still ample room to adjust the family budget, perhaps by putting off the purchase of a new car until the following year.
Amongst the poorest families in the Philippines this figure is closer to 80 or 90% of total income, which means that if the cost of food continues to rise, then some families will either have to go without, or else survive on only half of the food that they need.
The United Nations has expressed it’s concern in no uncertain terms, and has warned of the possibility of civil unrest if this situation is not addressed. It is a fact of life that when people are hungry they become desperate, and can be driven to extreme measures simply in an effort to stay alive.

In recent years food riots have increasingly occurred in countries around the world including Mexico, Egypt, Bangladesh, India, Senegal, and Haiti, to name but a few. In Haiti the situation became so serious that it brought down the government.

At the height of the 2007 food crisis the Philippines government managed to secure an agreement for the importation of one million tons of rice, but later reversed it’s decision because the cost of the rice was too high. They also passed legislation whereby anyone found to be hoarding rice would be subject to prosecution, the maximum penalty being life imprisonment, so serious was the situation considered to be.

We should not expect that our government can resolve this situation on it’s own. For despite our fertile soil and the abundance of arable land, and despite the fact that the birth rate in our country is high, giving rise to a predominantly young population of working age, we fail year after year to grow enough rice to feed our own population.

Perhaps it is because as a people we are so laid back, and we are more inclined to take each day as it comes. This is fine if you are able to plant, grow, and also harvest a crop overnight. Or maybe it is because we have simply become too used to just sitting around and letting the future take care of itself. If this is the case, then one thing is certain. We are going to get hungry, and our children are going to get hungry too. That is unless we act now!
There is land available for planting, land which has been put up for sale and which is no longer tended, land which is owned by someone who has gone abroad and which is no longer farmed, and land which is simply derelict but which could be used to plant rice.

All of us have space around our houses where we can plant fruit trees or vegetables. Fruit trees or corn can be planted by the side of the road. We could even grow tomatoes and peppers in containers on our balcony or in baskets hanging from the roof.

With a little ingenuity and the correct motivation we could significantly increase our country’s food production to the point where we are self sufficient, and we would probably come to enjoy a much more nutritious diet in the process.

A little vision is all that is required. We all want for our lives and for the lives of our children to improve, and yet there is so much that we can do. It is we who will shape the future, and it is our actions now which will determine if our children, together with future generations, have enough food to eat in the years to come./TE