Plant scientist Dr. Gebisa Ejeta was awarded the 2009  World Food Prize for his development of drought resistant sorghum seeds, which have helped African farmers increase their crop yield.  The $250,000 prize is awarded each year by the World Food Prize Foundation, which was established by Norman Borlaug, known as the “Father of the Green Revolution.”

Dr. Ejeta hails from Ethiopia, where his work has had a particular impact in easing famine conditions that frequently afflict his home country. Hybrid sorghum seed that he developed in the 1980’s created a yield 150% greater than natural seeds.  Upon creating a sorghum seed resistant to the Striga parasite, yields were quadrupled.

Dr. Ejeta’s work at Purdue University was funded by the United States Agency for Development (USAID) as part of its Sorghum, Millet and Other Grains (SMOG) initiative.

Bill Gates, in his capacity as co-chair and trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, congratulated Dr. Ejeta and called for more aid to small farmers saying that to “…grow more crops and get them to market is the world’s single most powerful lever for reducing hunger and poverty.”

During the first day of the Food and Agricultural Organization’s (FAO) High Level Expert Panel on “How to Feed the World in 2050″ on Monday, the organization’s Director General Jacques Diouf said that in order to keep up with a population that is expected to increase from 6.7 billion currently to more than 9 billion by 2050, investment in agriculture, particularly in developing countries, will need to increased by more than five times the current investment level.

“The challenge is not only to increase global future production but to increase it where it is mostly needed and by those who need it most,” FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said. “There should be a special focus on smallholder farmers, women and rural households and their access to land, water and high quality seeds … and other modern inputs.”

The Guardian discusses how Diouf focused his remarks on the need to address “…population growth, strong income growth and urbanisation, with shifts in diet structures towards more nutritious and higher quality food…” as a major challenge.

For the 300 delegates in attendance this week, identifying future food needs are one part of the Forum’s goal, identifying potential solutions to these needs are another.  These policy discussions will set the table for the World Summit on Food Security held for world leaders in November 2009.

Watch Monday’s High Level Expert Forum video coverage.

World Food Day will be celebrated on Friday, October 16 - the final event of World Food Week - recognizing the creation of the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and its mission of “defeating hunger.”  FPA’s Global Food Crisis blog will follow events held to commemorate World Food Week.

Each year, World Food Day revolves around a particular focus of the global food crisis, and this year the theme is “Achieving food security in times of crisis.”  To achieve the aims raised during World Food Week, FAO will hold a High Level Expert Forum on “How to Feed the World in 2050″ on October 12-13 in Rome to identify how to expand food availability by 2050, when global population is expected to rise to 9 billion people.  The UN will also convene a meeting of the Committee on World Food Security later in the week.

Stay tuned to the Global Food Crisis blog for updates on World Food week, news about the global food crisis and special features.

Natural phenomena are causing severe conditions in many countries around the world, causing and in some cases, exacerbating, food shortages that are affecting large populations.

The BBC reports that in Guatemala, President Alvaro Colom has sprung into action, declaring a “state of public calamity” and seeking to aid 54,000 Guatemalans whose access to food has been diminished by the effects of harsh weather on crops.  The World Food Programme is already assisting those in dire need and President Colom is opening up public funding for those affected to purchase food.

In Mexico, severe drought during the traditional “wet season,” suspected to be driven by atmospheric changes from “El Niño,” have hampered growing of corn, beans, barley and sorghum, as well as raising livestock.  According to the Los Angeles Times,

Farmers and officials say the impact, including lost earnings, unpaid debts and shortages of staple foods, could be felt well into next year.

‘Although no one wants to recognize it, there is a food crisis,’ said Cruz Lopez Aguilar, president of a national federation representing rural dwellers. He and others say increasing imports to make up for lost crops could raise food costs.

Mexican officials downplay the severity, saying lost production can be offset during the fall growing cycle, when crops are irrigated and rely less on direct rainfall. A federal government insurance program is meant to cover farmers affected by drought.

The monsoon cycle which typically irrigates India’s rice crops have appeared late this year, plunging half of India into drought and reducing crop forecasts by 20%.  The Indian government has reacted with a “stimulus package” to give farmers money for “short duration” crops, which can still take advantage of the late monsoon.

In a region where food supplies are already curtailed by conflict, East Africa has also suffered from sparse rainfall, causing drought that has affected Somalia and Kenya. According to the Toronto Star, “…7.5 million people [in Somalia]  need humanitarian aid and one in five children is malnourished.”  In Kenya, which has “suffered at least three consecutive droughts,” staple crops such as maize…are expected to shrink by 28 per cent from the yearly average.”

Increases in population, pollution and transportation costs matched with decreases in farmland, water supply and market prices are some of the oft-cited causes of the global food crisis.  In a recent OP-ED piece in the New York Times, Columbia University professor Dickson D. Despommier writes about how some of these challenges to growing food can be overcome by vertical farming.  Despommier explains that whole skyscrapers can be dedicated to growing food - using technologies that take up less space, have significant yields and recycle water.

Imagine a farm right in the middle of a major city. Food production would take advantage of hydroponic and aeroponic technologies. Both methods are soil-free. Hydroponics allows us to grow plants in a water-and-nutrient solution, while aeroponics grows them in a nutrient-laden mist. These methods use far less water than conventional cultivation techniques, in some cases as much as 90 percent less.

Does vertical farming have promise to solve the food crisis?  While Despommier cites that urban areas in the Middle East would be an excellent testing ground for this technology, he acknowledged in a 2008 Time Magazine article that, for now, the “construction and energy costs would probably make vertically raised food more costly than traditional crops. “

But as the potential for new food crises still threaten the global population and new solutions are sought, this one idea reaches for the sky.

The recent issue of Time Magazine reflects on how America eats, what it pays for its food and the source of its food supply.  Citing that:

For all the grumbling you do about your weekly grocery bill, the fact is you’ve never had it so good, at least in terms of what you pay for every calorie you eat. According to the USDA, Americans spend less than 10% of their incomes on food, down from 18% in 1966.

The article discusses how the rise of corn as an ingredient in many foods has increased the supply of food available to Americans.  Over time, the agricultural subsidies paid to produce corn, large-scale farm operations and consumer preferences have contributed to a cycle of cheaper, but in some cases, less healthy food.  Several recent high-profile recalls, the use of antibiotics in raising farm animals and health problems like diabetes are increasing the concerns of many Americans about their food supply.

The article also discusses the environmental impact of large-scale food production, as well as the effect it has on prices of organic foods and healthier foods like fruits and vegetables.

In addition to the cover story, there is also a comparison of how an organic hamburger is produced versus a conventional hamburger.  There are several photo essays including one that shows families from around the world, detailing the amount they spend on food and what they typically buy.

The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) released a report this week revealing Britain’s food supply vulnerabilities and strategies for combating a domestic shortage should the ongoing global crisis intensify.

Although the UK is largely self-sufficient with regards to food production, the Defra plan focuses largely on increasing that productivity, perhaps through the use of genetically modified (GM) crops - currently a deeply unpopular approach among Britons.

While introducing the report publicly, Hilary Benn, the Cabinet Minister who heads Defra and oversees national food policy, voiced support for GM crop trials aimed at finding out the facts about the technology and to use the science to boost production.

The Defra report also cites a number of extreme measures for combating the food supply problem domestically if the crisis becomes catastrophic.  Those methods include rationing food in the manner enlisted during the Second World War.  Britons would be required to eat lower-calorie diets, deemed “a highly restricted, if sufficiently nutritious diet” in the Defra report, and would be encouraged to take on a vegetarian lifestyle if food security issues interfere with the UK’s meat trade with countries like Argentina and Brazil.

However, outlining plans for a doomsday scenario was not the only goal of the report.  Other portions focused on long-term sustainability as global warming and water shortages could press the need for alternative food growth technology.  In his statement Benn argued,

“..we live in an interconnected world — where the price of soya in Brazil affects the price of steak at the local supermarket — we need to look at global issues that affect food security here. That’s why we need to consider what food systems should look like in 20 years and what must happen to get there.”

20 years is a relevant milestone, but so is 41.  The report states that the UK will  “play a full part” in hitting the UN’s target for increasing global food production by 70% by the year 2050.

This article, by Martin Hickman of The Independent, asks some important questions about the state of the UK food supply and the plausibility of some of the Defra report’s goals.

Another food strategy plan is set to be published by the end of the year.

This article by Lester Brown, founder of the Earth Policy Institute, appears in the May 2009 issue of Scientific American magazine.

In his analysis, Brown argues that causal factors such as the current world order, water shortages, eroding soil, and rising global temperatures are threatening not only the global food supply, but world civilization as a whole because of it.  He warns that a lack of widespread intervention on the latter three environmental factors, global water tables in particular, could push governments in poorer countries to collapse, with the resulting failed states threatening global security.

Brown also argues that the current food crisis is of concern for reasons beyond food shortage issues of the past.  He cites examples of event-driven shortages, such as droughts in the 1970s, and charges that today’s food crisis is trend-driven - following the intertwining of food production and the  energy economy as well as the growing world population and shifts in population affluence.  These trend-driven shortages, he says, pose a larger threat because they demand a shift in far-reaching global trends rather than isolated environmental conditions.

He also finds  acts by states to hoard food exports as a result of shortage concerns, worrisome.  These actions drive food prices up and deprive needy states of food imports.  Should that behavior continue, food access could become a forefront motivation in international conflict.

Lester Brown appeared as a guest on the Great Decisions Television Series 2009 episode entitled, “Running Out: The Global Food Crisis.”  The full episode can be viewed here.

Read Brown’s full article and please feel free to react in the “Comments” section below.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced the creation of a “Biofuels Interagency Working Group” to be composed of the Departments of Agriculture, Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA).  The working group will be tasked with supporting the U.S. biofuels industry through funds to support existing refiners, new loans to increase crop production and the building of refineries.

Balancing biofuel production with environmental concerns, the EPA is working on new rules that will take into account potential environmental damage caused by biofuel production and use.  The EPA is specifically looking to regulate the processes that produce corn ethanol while promoting ethanol production from other biomass sources.  The Wall Street Journal’s Environmental Capital blog points out that the new rules are unduly harsh on the corn ethanol industry and may actually hurt the administration’s goals.

The U.S. government is working to understand and combat the “swine flu” outbreak, it must also contend with the impact that swine flu fears are having on exports of U.S. pork products.  So far, countries including China, Croatia, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Ukraine have announced full or partial bans on pork product imports from the United States and Mexico.  The New York Times reports how the U.S. pork industry and U.S. government are trying to combat misinformation about purported links between eating pork and contracting swine flu.

The ABC News blog reports that the U.S.  is officially calling the virus by name its particular strain, “H1N1″ to put distance between the connection between “pork” and the “swine flu.”

“This really isn’t swine flu. It’s H1N1 virus,” [Agriculture Secretary Tom] Vilsack said. “We want to say to consumers here and abroad that there is no risk to you, there is no scientific evidence whatsoever that there is any link between consuming pork, prepared pork products, and the H1N1 virus.”

Despite these assurances, more countries are considering import bans and Egypt’s government has ordered the slaughter of all pigs to prevent swine flu from spreading.

While all of the facts about this outbreak are continuing to develop, FPA’s Global Market’s blog has provided an overview of the dangers of a potential pandemic - and a comprehensive list of official sources for learning more about the virus.