Topic: Global Food Crisis
Country: Saudi Arabia
Delegate Name: Carter Ellwood
School: Forest Hills Central High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Saudi Arabia position papers GLIMUN 2008 committees
The global food crisis is, most simply put, a shortage of food for the world’s population. The fact isn’t as simple as populations growing and supplies of food dropping. It is true that supplies of food are either falling or being diverted, such as in the case of wheat. Some countries point to skyrocketing prices as the cause for global hunger, when the fact is that since June the FAO’s Food Price Index has fallen more than 28%. The biggest factor right now is that four fifths of the world’s food is consumed by the wealthiest fifth of its population. This means that the fact isn’t that there isn’t enough food in the world, it is just being over consumed by the wealthiest populations.
Saudi Arabia is one of the Arab worlds largest importers of food. However Saudi Arabia has taken notice of the fact that this means that they are not only paying for food they didn’t even grow but also can do nothing to help control their own destiny when it comes to the food markets. Due to this fact Saudi Arabia has taken interest in a number of foreign countries agricultural land in pursuit of growing food for Saudi citizens. In another effort to help out with the slowing down and eventual annihilation of the current global food crisis, Saudi Arabia had donated 500 million dollars to the World Food Program for aid. Saudi Arabia also donated and distributed over 385000 tons of dates through the WFP. IN the past they have also given aid to both Lebanon and Guinea. This effort of donating over two-thirds to a WFP project has shown Saudi Arabia’s interest in lessening the effects of this current crisis. There undertaking of Domestic Food supplies also shows the interest in lessening the impact of Saudi Arabia in the global food market that is already in very low supply.
Many countries would be in favor of a reshaping of the way the global food market is working. If many of the top consumers started to produce as well it would not only reduce the international intake but also increase supply of food in the global community. Rather than large countries increasing aid, they could employ this strategy and proactive in both helping out and reducing their impact. That is why I feel most countries would agree with this.
