Two global campaigns launched focusing on ending hunger, reducing food waste

Jan 24 2013

"A coalition of 100 U.K. development charities and faith groups will on Wednesday launch [the If campaign,] a major campaign to lobby David Cameron, the prime minister, to use Britain's presidency of the G8 to leverage action on ending global hunger," the Guardian reports. "As well as more money for nutrition programs and small-scale farming, the coalition, which includes Oxfam, Save the Children, ONE, Christian Aid and Tearfund, is calling on the U.K. government to close loopholes that allow companies to dodge paying tax in poor countries; stop international land deals that are detrimental to people and the environment, and lobby the World Bank to review the impact of its funding for such deals; launch a convention on tax transparency at the G8 to 'reinvigorate the global challenge to tax havens'; and force governments and investors to be more open about their investments in poor countries," the newspaper writes (Ford, 1/22).

A separate campaign launched Tuesday by the U.N. Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization and partners -- "Think, Eat, Save. Reduce Your Foodprint" -- "seeks to accelerate action to eliminate wasteful practices and help countries share successful initiatives ... to dramatically reduce some 1.3 million tons of food waste every year," according to the U.N. News Centre. "It specifically targets food wasted by consumers, retailers and the hospitality industry," the news service notes (1/22). As a preview to online debates on food, water and energy beginning February 6 and hosted by the Guardian and SABMiller, Gordon Conway and Liz Wilson of Imperial College London discuss the issues and "some innovative solutions" in a Guardian article (1/22).