Something over 82 million more people are alive this Christmas than have ever been alive before, as our world population moves inexorably towards the eight billion mark, due in now just over three years.

The current global food system is not structured to cope with a rapidly growing population, climate shocks and the rise of both hunger and obesity. Under business-as-usual scenarios, an estimated 637 million people will still be undernourished, while health systems could face a bill of $1.2 trillion every year for treating medical conditions related to obesity.

Have you noticed that every time you do your monthly shop it seems like your trolley becomes more expensive? With rising prices all round, South Africans are feeling the pinch. But did you know that climate change is also part of the problem and is contributing to the inflation? 

The World Economic Forum’s New Vision for Agriculture initiative has helped create public-private partnerships in 23 countries that have benefited millions of farmers.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), a quarter of the global population “suffer from moderate or severe food insecurity”.

Farmers in England will be paid more public money for protecting the environment and producing food more sustainably, the government has said.

The global food system is reeling from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the reverberating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and devastating droughts across Africa, India, and the Middle East

Imagine strolling through the aisles of your local supermarket, searching for that rare specialty mustard for tonight’s dinner.

Domestic food price inflation remains high. Inflation higher than 5% is experienced in 61.9% of low-income countries (no change since the last update two weeks ago), 76.1% of lower-middle-income countries (3.9-percentage-point decrease), 50% of upper-middle-income countries (no change), and 57.4% of high-income countries (2.6-percentage-point decrease). The most-affected countries are in Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia. In real terms, food price inflation exceeded overall inflation in 74% of the 167 countries where data is available.

The benchmark for world food commodity prices was broadly unchanged in July for the second month in a row, as increases in international quotations of vegetable oils, meat products and sugar offset an ongoing decrease in those for cereals, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported Friday.

Our natural resources, the foundation of food production, are in jeopardy.