One Just World forum: Will the world be able to feed itself in 2050?: Food security and the developing world
Wednesday, 10 September 2008, 5:15 pm
Register at http://www.unisa.edu.au/hawkecentre/events/EventBookings.asp
Adelaide Town Hall, auditorium, 128 King William Street, Adelaide
One Just World forum: Will the world be able to feed itself in 2050? Food security and the developing world
Jointly-presented by World Vision Australia, AusAID, International Women's Development Agency and supported by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at UniSA
Poverty explains why more than 800 million people are chronically hungry and up to 2 billion people lack food security. In most developing countries, 70% or more of the population live in rural areas. In many places, the absence of land ownership gives little incentive to poor farmers to improve the land. Increased bio-fuel farming, dramatic increases in oil prices, global population growth, climate change, and growing consumer demand in China and India have pushed up the price of grain. Food riots have recently taken place in many countries and poor women, who are responsible for producing the majority of the world's food, are struggling to feed themselves and their families.
This forum will update you on the current state of world food security and explore some of the big challenges and options in building a secure, equitable, sustainable global food system. What is needed to overcome the current crisis and ensure global food security for future generations? What will be the impact of the looming energy crisis on food supply, especially in developing countries? How should we address the profound inequalities in land access that help perpetuate poverty? How can we best ensure space for traditional ecological farming practices? What changes are needed in global agriculture and trade arrangements? In food aid systems? And do we also need to tackle the cultural underpinnings that sustain hunger in the midst of plenty?
Featuring expert speakers Rev Tim Costello, CEO, World Vision Australia Farhad Mazhar, MD of UBINIG, Bangladesh (Policy Research for Development Alternative) which created one of the biggest community seed banks in the world and is a leading player in South Asian bio-diverse and ecological agriculture movements Sophia Murphy, Senior Advisor, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, based in Minneapolis, USA Chair: Professor Pal Ahluwalia, Pro Vice Chancellor, Division of Education Arts and Social Sciences
