Global Food for Thought: Innovation in Crisis | Sugar Challenges | Meat Alternatives | Chicago Council on Global Affairs

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 TOP STORY

An Appeal for Funds

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, called for the world’s wealthiest countries to provide $90 billion dollars to protect the world’s most vulnerable people. While it may seem like a big number, it is in fact just one percent of the collective stimulus funds that the world’s richest nations have already poured into shoring up the global economy.

The consequences of inaction include the World Food Programme’s recent warning that the number of people in the world experiencing a food crisis could double this year. The beginnings of expanding food insecurity are already visible, from the 9 million South African children now missing out on meals from school feeding programs, to farmers facing the locust swarms and COVID-19 simultaneously.  

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Children queue for food at a school feeding scheme during a nationwide lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Blue Downs township near Cape Town, South Africa. (REUTERS/Mike Hutchings)

COUNCIL INSIGHTS

Innovation and Leadership: Due to the pandemic, school closures in countries that implement World Food Programme (WFP) school feeding schemes have left nearly 12 million children without school lunches. How is the WFP innovating in the crisis to ensure that children are fed? Head of the WFP Innovation Accelerator, Bernhard Kowatsch, explains how the WFP is finding new ways to reach people in our latest collaboration with Agri-Pulse. The Council is pleased to announce a new virtual event series, Lessons in Leadership, in which Distinguished Fellow and former Executive Director of the WFP, Catherine Bertini, speaks with leaders and gains their insights and perspectives on what makes effective leadership. Register for Wednesday, May 13’s livestream with Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.  

 UPCOMING COUNCIL EVENTS

LIVE STREAM: The Global Resurgence of Antisemitism
Date: May 19
Time: 2:15 pm CT

Did you miss one of our previous livestreams? Don’t worry! They are all available on our website to watch at any time. 

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ISSUES

Dry Times: Indonesia, which is a world leader in palm oil and coffee production, is currently weathering an abnormally dry season. It is estimated that almost one third of the country’s agriculture regions will be drier than usual, which could result in both food instability and price increases.   

Sugar Mills Continue: In an attempt to support the struggling economy, many of Cuba’s sugar mills have remained open despite the country’s partial lock down. Cuba’s economy typically relies heavily on tourism and remittances, which have recently been greatly restricted and reduced. The government has responded by redirecting funds with increased focus on agriculture, mainly sugar and nickel, with the hope of increasing exports.  

Coffee Slump: Coffee supply chains around South America are greatly disrupted due to a variety of factors including skilled labor shortages for the harvest. While the harvest of the coffee has largely been completed, processing and export have been held up, resulting in poorer coffee quality and less financial security for farmers. 

DEEPER DIVE

How much sugar does Cuba produce? Last year, Cuba produced 1.3 million metric tons of sugar. This was the lowest of the nation’s annual outputs in more than a century. While that pales in comparison to 1920’s output of more than 5 million tons or 1991’s 8 million ton output, 1.3 million metric tons is difficult to visualize. To help you imagine it, we calculated that it is enough raw sugar to fill approximately 185,715 large commercial dump trucks. Unfortunately, we don’t know how to help you imagine almost 200,000 dump trucks. 

DATA CRUNCH

Waste Solutions: ReFED, an organization using data driven research to combat food waste, has created a COVID-19 Food Waste Solution Fund to provide funding to initiatives aimed at creating solutions for the current excess of food waste caused by the pandemic. The organization focuses on food waste at the farm and supply chain levels, as well as refocusing food to food-insecure communities.     

Olives Under Attack: A bacterium, xylella fastidiosa, has killed millions of olive trees around Italy in recent years, and is now threatening other olive producing countries in Southern Europe. A recent study projects the bacteria could lead to $22 billion in losses to the olive oil market over the next 50 years should the bacteria spread. There is currently no cure for the bacterium, and current strategies to combat its spread, such as isolating infected trees, have been largely ineffective.  

BIG IDEAS

Arid Innovation: A new indoor farm has opened in Kuwait, hoping to provide the arid country with year-round salad. &ever, a vertical farming company, is utilizing a system of dryponics, in which the roots of the plants are kept dry. The plants are also unique in that they don’t need to be washed and can be harvested right before they are eaten to maximize nutritional quality.  

DC REPORT

Encouraging Urban Agriculture: USDA’s new Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, established in the 2018 Farm Bill and funded at the end of 2019, announced new competitive grants to support stakeholders in urban and suburban areas. The new office focuses on rooftop, community, and other urban gardens and farms; food systems education; and pilot projects to increase composting and decrease food waste, among other emerging forms of production that have sustainable potential. 

BIG ACTORS 

Opinion: Strengthening the Chain: Those most vulnerable to hunger in the world have been placed in an even more precarious position in the pandemic. In response to the threat of growing hunger, Tony Blair and Agnes Kalibata argue that four steps must be taken globally: increasing food-relief funding, investing in local agricultural production, supporting regional and local logistical hubs, and incentivizing private sector investment in agroprocessing.  

TRADE & COMMODITIES

Seeking Alternatives: Meat alternative sales have increased drastically in recent months—the last week of March saw a 255 percent increase from the same time frame in 2019, far outpacing normal meat sales. Due to recent concerns of food safety, alternative meat may appeal as a safer option compared to traditional meat to consumers. Also, as meat processing plant shutdowns drive up the price of meat, plant-based alternatives are becoming more competitively priced.  

Sugar Crash: The FAO Food Price Index shows world food prices falling in April for the third consecutive month. Sugar prices hit a 13-year low after a 14.6 percent drop. The price of rice, however, has risen 7.2 percent from March. Wheat prices rose as well, although the price of maize dropped precipitously. 

 OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS

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