According to UNICEF, about 30,000 children die each day within the world capitalist system due to easily preventable conditions related to poverty and malnutrition. But the longstanding failures of the system to feed those who live under it — for the simple but shocking reason that feeding some people is simply not profitable for the capitalist food industry — has recently taken a turn for the worse. The global food crisis is wreaking havoc in many communities worldwide, leading this year to food riots in many countries, including Haiti, Cameroon, Indonesia and Egypt, to name only a few. For some in-depth analysis of what’s wrong with the system of capitalist food production, a recent book, The Global Food Economy: The Battle for the Future of Farming, written by London’s Tony Weis, is well worth checking out. So, too, is an article in the new issue of Monthly Review, called “The World Food Crisis: Sources and Solutions,” by Fred Magdoff. These problems are not going to disappear any time soon, and radicals need to equip ourselves with a sophisticated grasp of the issues, one which goes beyond the superficial coverage available in mainstream sources.
2526 Responses to “Putting the Food Crisis in Political Perspective”