HDI’s “U.N. To D.C.” Program: Hansjoerg Strohmeyer Briefs Congressional Staffers on Global Food Crises, July 21, 2008

July 22, 2008

The Humpty Dumpty Institute arranged for Hansjoerg Strohmeyer, Chief of the Policy Development and Studies Branch, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Head of the Food Policy Support Team, Secretary-General’s High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis to brief House and Senate staffers on July 21, 2008, in response To The Global Food Crisis, U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Mr. Strohmeyer briefed a standing room only audience on the need for the international community to immediately address the global food crisis or face a disaster of previously unforeseen proportions. He explained how the world food situation is rapidly changing as a result of numerous factors. The most critical is the unprecedented increase in the price of food. Together with diminishing food stocks and difficulties accessing food by some communities, these conditions have led to a complex set of challenges – humanitarian, socio-economic, developmental, political and security-related.

He further discussed the causes of the current price boom and strain on food stocks. These include: increase in oil prices, demand for higher-input food, decreasing levels of food stocks, climate change and environmental degradation, and growing use of bio-fules. Mr. Stohmeyer also informed the staffers that within the next 50 years, four billion people will be living in areas of the world which will not be food self sufficient.

To learn more about this program and HDI, please contact: jonathan.landesman@thehdi.org.

HDI’s “U.N. to D.C.” program is partially supported by the United Nations Foundation.