Progressive Wednesday

Organics for the poor (w/seven-second action).

May 12th, 2007 by Matt

Right now, organic food seems, at times, like a pricey luxury. Thankfully, more and more the price of this produce is coming down (thanks to increased demand, and therefore, production), and processed organic food is often similarly priced, and at times, cheaper than their genetically-modified and potentially pesticide-coated counterparts (I find this particularly true with foodstuffs like cereals, mac and cheese, and salsa).

But a new United Nations study plainly states that a shift to organic farming could, besides helping that not-so-little thing called the “environment,” also help curb world hunger. The previously held knock on such an idea was that organic farming can reduce crop yields significantly, but over time this levels off.

And according to the Associated Press:

Researchers in Denmark found… that food security for sub-Saharan Africa would not be seriously harmed if 50 percent of agricultural land in the food exporting regions of Europe and North America were converted to organic by 2020.

While total food production would fall, the amount per crop would be much smaller than previously assumed, and the resulting rise in world food prices could be mitigated by improvements in the land and other benefits, the study found.

But here’s the real perk: if farmers in sub-Saharan Africa made the switch, “it could reduce their need to import foods.” And here’s another plus: these farmers would save precious money by not needing to purchase chemicals, and earn money by exporting any extras.

Another study conducted by the University of Michigan found that:

A global shift to organic agriculture would yield at least 2,641 kilocalories per person per day, just under the world’s current production of 2,786, and as many as 4,381 kilocalories per person per day.

So why are these new findings so significant? Well, here are the facts, Jack:

• 850 million people are chronically undernourished. That’s nearly three times the population of the United States.
• Since 1996, the number of undernourished people in the developing world has gone up by 20 million. But here’s the more upsetting fact: the number of undernourished people is continuing to rise by four million per year.
• 30% of the world’s population suffers from malnutrition.
• Nearly 24,000 people die each day as a direct result of hunger. And here’s a chilling statistic: 18,000 of those daily deaths are of children under the age of five.

So while you might not be able to start an organic farm in Africa, there is something incredibly simple you can do. Just click this sentence to be taken to The Hunger Site. Then click the button on that page labeled “HELP FEED THE HUNGRY.” There — you’ve just helped feed someone.

If you have any doubts about the legitimacy of this, you needn’t: just click here or here or here. The second link includes a citation from The New York Times.

If you just give a few clicks, you can help feed the hungry, and we know you can easily spend 7 seconds every day doing this. So give a little with your mouse button, baby, give a little.

Produce photo by this food lover.