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Discussing world hunger challenges are (from left) Will Watterson, New Zealand director of the Global Poverty Project, Otago University researcher Dr Chris Rosin and community activist Scott Willis. Photo by Peter McIntosh. |
A billion people are going hungry, but small-scale farming,
and environmental sustainability are key parts of the
solution, and not just increased food production by developed
countries like New Zealand.
That message emerged from a sometimes passionate debate at an
open forum - devoted to the theme "World Without Hunger?
Population growth, food production and a finite planet" - and
held at the University of Otago on Thursday.
Taking part in an associated panel discussion were Dr Chris
Rosin, deputy director of the university's Centre for
Sustainability: Agriculture, Food, Energy, Environment
(CSAFE), Will Watterson, New Zealand director of the Global
Poverty Project, and Scott Willis, manager of the Blueskin
Resilient Communities Trust and community activist.
Organised by CSAFE and the university Centre for Theology and
Public Issues, the gathering was chaired by the respective
two centre directors, Dr Janet Stephenson and Prof Andrew
Bradstock.
About 50 people attended, and the event was also streamed
live as video via the university's website to about 60 other
locations, including overseas.
Mr Watterson noted "really scary" recent developments,
including food prices doubling in some developing countries.
He remained an optimist, noting the world already produced
more than enough food to feed everyone and said small-scale
agriculture in developing nations had a key role to play.
Dr Rosin said the distribution of food ultimately was "as
much a political question" as simply a matter of food supply.
He urged people to form a "new vision of a better world, a
world without hunger".
A "productivist" ideology was sometimes evident in some New
Zealand agricultural circles, which emphasised our role in
increasing food production to meet the world's food needs,
but with little focus on sustainability issues.
New Zealand kiwifruit producers already appreciated the
economic benefits of environmental sustainability. Today's
kiwifruit were produced with much less chemical spraying, and
had accordingly gained a market premium, he said.
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