For those that doubt that there is a major food crisis in the world, take a look at Ethiopia. Of course we have seen the starvation that takes place in Ethiopia for some time now. Still, no matter how many times you are reminded that there are starving people in the country, every time the images appear it feels like the first time you are being informed.

Starvation is still major problem in Ethiopia, according to aid worker. Since I have been alive, starvation has been a problem in Ethiopia and it seems as if the starvation will never need. Health workers are concerned that everyone in the country is starving and they have put the word out to the world.

Adults and children alike are starving due to crop failure and drought. Doctors Without Borders are tending to the masses of thin weak bodies but the abundance of hungry people is overwhelming. In 1984 Ethiopia was in the spotlight and the world saw the extent of the starvation there. However, as time moved on and some aide reached the region, the world began to forget about Ethiopia. Now, twenty plus years later, the world is not paying attention to Ethiopia.

There was a time that malnutrition was a major problem for babies but adults and older children were fairing much better. Now it seems that even the adults are in terrible shape. If the adults are in bad shape then their offspring obviously is not going to be in the best of health either. IN 1984 famine and communist policies were blamed for the starvation in Ethiopia. Now, it seems that there just isn’t enough food to go around.

When people talk about he global food crisis, Ethiopia is one of the places that is experiencing the problems associated with e high cost of food. With so many people starving aide workers are not able to feed and treat all of them.

Africa and Asia are the places in the world where the food shortage is going to hit hard. These are continents with many poor people that can not afford to have food increase by even a few cent. Other countries in Africa have long suffered form not having enough food to feed everyone and Asia has a number of people that can only spend a little bit of money on food. As food prices continue to climb, more and more people will begin to starve.

It is so difficult to imagine that there are millions of starving people in any one place. Ethiopia is a country that has paced starving masses for far too long. One day I would like to hear that there is no more mass starvation in Ethiopia but I don’t know how realistic that is. It seems that even though people are starving, there are still plenty of babies so someone is healthy enough to give birth. It seems that population control would be something that the people of Ethiopia would try to practice more. Of course, in some cultures, women are supposed to have children and no matter how bleak the financial situation is, children are still born.

The U.N. summit on the global food crisis ended with delegates from 181 countries vowing to do something about the food crisis. This global food crisis has been big news in the past few months. As gas prices increase, taking the price of everything that is exported and imported up, affording food has become an issue for many people around the world. The United Nations held a summit in Rome to discuss measures that could be taken to help alleviate the crisis.

The delegates spent three days coming up with different strategies. Some of their solutions include cutting down on trade barriers and increasing agricultural production. A declaration to bring down high food cost was also made. Assistance for small farm holders was also made. Help for farmers living in poor countries that can not afford to buy seeds and other farming needs will get some type of help.

The U.N Secretary –General Ban Ki-moon said that import taxes and export restrictions should be cut down on to help move food through borders. This should help feed the millions of people that are starving or undernourished in the world. Malnutrition has always been a problem for the world , even before the so called food crisis. Hopefully these measures will help to cut down on these issues.

For those the question if there is a food crisis at all, the answer is, it all depends on where you live. If you are living in one of the countries that seems to have an ample food supply the global food shortage is something that you might not be able to feel or see. However, I know that for my entire life there have been people starving somewhere in the world. While there may not have been an official global food shortage, it was absolutely there.

There was of course some delegates that were not happy with the outcome of the summit. Argentina wanted the declaration to recognize that subsidies given to some farmers in the U.S., European Union and other western food growers contributed to the rise in food prices. Nicaragua’s delegates were also not happy, saying that the summit did not really address the real problems that caused the food crisis.

Bio-fuel was also discussed at the summit. Of course, any mention of any type of fuel right now when gas prices are very high is bound to spark anger. Bio-fuels are made form crops, prompting some to say that we should stop making them all together, for now and use the crops for food. However, as I said before, there have always been starving masses in the world. Just because the world is ready to recognize that fact now, does not make it anything new. So the production of bio-fuels should not be blamed for the food shortage.

The success or failure of the food summit will come to be known in the next few months. Will the solutions decrease starvation and malnutrition or was that gathering of delegates just a waste of time? Only time can tell.

Anyone that has gone grocery shopping has surely noticed that the price of food has greatly increased. The days of stocking my cabinets with twenty bucks are long gone, even with my savvy budgeting. Just today I bought a tomato, an onion and one box of pasta and it cost me over nine dollars. The word is that food prices are skyrocketing around the world and soon their could be a food shortage.

What is causing all of the trouble? Well, the prices of food continue to rise because the price to move food to different places is rising. Food is shipped around the world using fuel, another commodity that is getting more and more expensive. Poorer countries have already seen riots and uprisings because of food prices that a large part of the population can not afford. However, there doesn’t seem to be an end to rising food cost as of yet. Unrest is sure to continue and grow in more places if food prices do not drop or stop rising.

Some countries have talked about closing their borders to protect their notational food supplies. This is very troubling because that could mean starvation for many people around the world. The mention of the food crisis already taking a hold of India and other South Asian countries could become more than just speculation. The staple foods of most Indian’s diet have increased greatly in price. Rice and lentils, two foods that are generally on my list of very cheap, healthy foods that can get me through a very lean financial time have gone up and wages have remained the same or gone down. If the prices of rice and lentils continue to rise many poor Indians will not be able to afford them.

President Bush has proposed a $770 million dollar aid package to help developing nations with the food crisis. Some of the money would go towards an emergency food shipment and the rest of it would supply countries with seeds to plant and ease the burden of expense food. Congress must approve the measure, which hopefully they will, and Bush calls on other countries to help if they can.

Some of the things that may help ease your personal food crisis are:

1.Buy Where You Live:

Buy food that is grown close to home. Food grown by farmers in your area is fresher and cheaper because it is not shipped for days and the price it cost to drive the food to Farmer’s Market is much less than what it cost of for a big rig to drive the food to you.

2. Take Advantage of Discount Grocery Chains:

After you buy your fruit and vegetables from Farmer’s Market, take a trip to the local discount food store. Buy generic brands for less from groceries chains like Aldi’s or Sav-A-Lot. A can of beans that may cost you 79 cent at the brand name grocery store will be about 39 cent at the generic store. Why pay more for a name?

3. Eat What You Need, Not What You Want:

A good friend of mine told me last year that he eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich everyday. When he told me that I laughed but now, a year later, when we are sharing stories about our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Peanut butter is a good source of protein, the jelly, if you buy the kind that is all nautral fruit is like a treat and the multi-grian bread generally gives you a variety of nutrients. Gormet? No, but the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, as simple as it is, is a very low cost lunch and when I add in a salad and simple low sodium broth veggie soup, I am stuffed and well nourished. Eat what you need and cut down on the extras.