The Green Party of Canada is observing the United Nations’ International Day for the Eradication of Poverty by calling on the Canadian government to make the eradication of poverty globally a central goal of our foreign policy. “Yesterday was World Food Day and today is a day about poverty. Obviously these issues are inextricably linked and Canada’s development aid efforts should have a strong focus on agriculture as a means to ensure food security for the very poor,”said Green Leader Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands.
The Green Party urges Canada to focus economic investment on agricultural sectors that provide for food sovereignty through both subsistence farming and domestic commercial farming methods that are in keeping with green environmentally sound and gender equality principles. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization reports that almost a billion people are going hungry, 13.6% of the world’s population, due to neglect of agriculture, the economic crisis, and the increase in food prices, exacerbated by climate change.
“Rising food prices will be extremely hard to bear for the world’s poor. For this complex problem, we must have complex solutions, including supporting and enabling small farmers and increasing food security,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May.