Safia cooks rice and potatoes for four people in Badana, Kenya.
The global food system is broken
A mix of extreme inequality and poverty, human rights abuses, conflict and the climate crisis has left hundreds of millions struggling to find their next meal. Recent spikes in food prices, fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war, have added fuel to the fire.
Yet, this is not a new global food crisis; it is another shock to the protracted food crisis caused by long-standing failures in the global food system. Hunger persists not due to a global shortage of food but because they cannot afford it or they simply cannot access it. Farmers produce more than enough food however there is a problem with the way the food is distributed globally.
It is unacceptable that, in a world of plenty, almost a tenth of the global population still endures hunger. Equally concerning is that major food traders and companies rake in record profits. We need to revamp our food system to make it local, fair, and sustainable. Rather than ramping up food production in Europe, the EU must support fairer and more sustainable food systems in poorer countries. This starts with supporting small-scale food producers, and promoting especially the rights of women farmers, who are key in the fight against hunger and poverty.