The Issues

• Nearly one billion people face hunger every day
• Consumers in rich countries may waste as much as a quarter of the food they buy
• Between 1983 and 2006 rich countries’ support to their own agricultural sectors spiraled to over $250bn a year – 79 times their agricultural aid to developing countries
• Over the next 60 years, climate change could cause a 50% decline in food yields in countries like Sudan and Senegal

The world is beautiful and verdant, and verily God, be He exalted, has made you His stewards in it, and He sees how you acquit yourselves.¹

Nearly one billion people face hunger every day

Today there are nearly one billion undernourished people in the world. This means that one in seven of us that live on this planet do not get enough food to lead healthy and active lives. According to the World Food Programme, hunger and malnutrition are in fact the number one risk to health worldwide, more than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined! Not having enough food makes people susceptible to infectious diseases, impairs physical and mental development, reduces their labour productivity and increases the risk of dying early.

Consumers in rich countries may waste as much as a quarter of the food they buy

But waste not by excess, for Allah loves not the wasters (Qur’an 7:31)

Did you know that in the UK alone we collectively throw away 8.3 million tonnes of food from our homes every year? Reducing food waste is a really important way of tackling world hunger. Studies show that the high consumption of food in rich countries like the UK increases food prices in the developing world. Buying food, which is then often wasted, reduces overall supply and pushes up the price of food, making grain less affordable for poor people in other parts of the world. With Ramadan around the corner, this is a good time to think about how much food is thrown away by Muslims at home and in mosques. Food waste has serious environmental implications too! When you take into consideration production, transportation and storage, food waste is responsible for a significant percentage of the UK’s greenhouse emissions. If all of us in the UK stop wasting food that could have been eaten, the impact on the climate would be the equivalent of taking 1 in 4 cars off the road! This would go a long way to limiting climate change and would help farmers in poorer countries.

Between 1983 and 2006 rich countries’ support to their own agricultural sectors spiralled to over $250bn a year – 79 times their agricultural aid to developing countries

Corruption has appeared on the land and in the sea because of what the hands of humans have wrought. (Qur’an 30:41)

Agricultural subsidies in rich countries force down world prices which means that farmers in poorer countries cannot compete in the market. The effects on poverty are especially negative when subsidies are provided for crops that are also grown in developing countries. The International Food Policy Research Institute has estimated in 2003 that the impact of subsidies costs developing countries over $24b. Many believe that subsidised agriculture in the developed world is one of the greatest obstacles to economic growth in the developing world. This has an indirect impact on reducing the income available to these poorer countries to invest in infrastructure such as health, safe water supplies and electricity for the rural poor. Although in light of the recession there have been numerous debates about foreign aid, the total amount of subsidies that go towards agriculture in developed countries like the UK and France far exceeds the amount that countries provide in development aid.

Over the next 60 years, climate change could cause a 50% decline in food yields in countries like Sudan and Senegal

So we all agree that food is becoming too expensive. Well international food prices of some basic foods are set to more than double by 2030, with about half of that rise caused by climate change. Did you know that although rich countries produce most of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change, it is the poorest countries that will be hit hardest? The emissions cut currently offered by world governments could still see global temperatures rise by 3- 4ºC. This would have a catastrophic effect on farming in many countries. Climate change has already started to cause more frequent and unpredictable droughts, floods, hunger and disease. In Bangladesh for example, coastal and fishing populations are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Fishing communities there are subject not only to sea-level rise, but also flooding and increased typhoons. Erosion as a result of stronger and higher tides, cyclones and storm surges is eating away Bangladesh's southern coast.²

¹Sahih Muslim, trans. Abdul Hamid Siddiqi (Beirut Dar al Arabia) book 10 hadith 10
²http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign/climate_change/human_impact