A global food crisis is here, and Canada must act

An attack on a grain terminal in Mykolaiv. Landmines planted in farmers’ fields. A missile strike on the Port of Odesa. Stolen grain. These are the tactics Russia has deployed in the seven months since Putin launched his illegal war on Ukraine, and this use of food as a weapon of war is having a massive impact on the global food supply. Organizations like the World Food Program are highly dependent on Ukrainian grain. For months, Ukraine’s grain was either stuck in silos or on blockaded ships, or stolen by the Russians. The recent Black Sea Grain Initiative is finally allowing some of this grain to move, but not fast enough to prevent hungry people in places such as Yemen, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia, Syria, and Afghanistan from suffering. The crisis in Ukraine is only exacerbating pre-existing challenges within a broken global food system. Food insecurity was already at record highs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change when Russia struck. Crop failures, food shortages, and skyrocketing prices on basic staples have led humanitarian organizations to sound the alarm as they witness emergency levels of malnutrition occurring simultaneously across multiple countries. Canada has a crucial role to play in the global response to this crisis. As Brittany Lambert of Oxfam Canada says, “People are starving not because the world lacks food or money, but for a dismal lack of political courage… Countries can mobilize resources to prevent human suffering—but only if they choose to.” Food scarcity is more than just a humanitarian crisis, it is a political problem. The longer there is inaction, the wider and deeper the problem will become—and the more costly it will become to address. 'Food scarcity is more than just a humanitarian crisis, it is a political problem. The longer there is inaction, the wider and deeper the problem will become—and the more costly it will become to address,' writes NDP MP Heather McPherson, her party's foreign affairs critic. Photograph courtesy of the House of Commons In June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced new funding worth $250-million to address the global food crisis. This is a start, but there is a lot more Canada can do. Canada’s international development sector is calling on the Canadian government to boost overall funding to international development aid, including by increasing emergency funding to countries most vulnerable to the food crisis. A recent proposal from the Canadian Food Security Policy Group recommends a $500-million funding package in support of gender-responsive and climate-resilient food systems. Falling under Canada’s $5.3-billion climate finance commitment, this funding package would represent less than 10 per cent of Canada’s total commitment, but would do much to combat the global food crisis while empowering those living on the front lines of climate change. There are other actions Canada could take immediately as well: increase our minimum annual contribution to the Food Assistance Convention, which has remained at $250-million since 2013; make funding more flexible to reflect the needs of implementing partners in emerging food crises; index our humanitarian food assistance funding with rising food prices; and develop a long-term approach that would build resilience and enable people to prepare for the coming geo-political and climate-change-related shocks. These are steps the government could take today. Beyond that, we need a real conversation about why the global food system is failing so many. In August, The Guardian revealed that the four largest grain companies—controlling nearly 90 per cent of the global grain trade—have made record profits as food prices have risen in the wake of the war in Ukraine. While farmers and consumers suffer, large and powerful food companies are benefiting from surging prices. The food system is broken. It isn’t working for Canadians or for those in fragile places. A global food system that allows companies to make record profits while people starve is not sustainable, and it’s not right. It must be changed, and Canada must lead. We need a systems approach that looks not just at humanitarian food aid, but at the big picture of producing, processing, marketing, and consuming food at a global level. We need a system that anticipates shocks caused by climate change and addresses endemic poverty. We need a sustainable and just food system. We need a system based on people, not profit. Heather McPherson is the NDP MP representing Edmonton Strathcona. She is her party's foreign affairs critic and deputy whip. The Hill Times