Thanks to Sustainable Farming, Global Hunger Is on the Decline

[eridani]

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/05/27/global-hunger-report?cmpid=tpdaily-eml-2015-05-27

There were more than 1 billion hungry people around the globe in 1990—nearly 20 percent of the global population.

Despite there being nearly 2 billion more people living on planet Earth today, that number has dropped significantly over the past 25 years, according to a new report from the United Nations. Today 200 million fewer people are routinely malnourished than were in 1990. While problems persist—twice as many African countries (24) are grappling with food crises today compared with 1990—the report shows that the ambitious Millennial Development Goals for hunger set in 2000 were achieved by many countries. More than half—72 of 129—were able to hit the target of reducing malnourishment by 50 percent by this year, “with developing regions as a whole missing the target by a small margin.”

The successes weren’t the result of industrial agriculture, trade deals, or newfangled farming technologies. Rather, in a world where 70 percent of food is grown on smallholder farms, success has come from both protecting and empowering such growers—people who, in many instances, are the first to feel the effects of political unrest, climate-related disasters, poverty, and other issues that can lead to hunger.