Skip to main content
Regional secretary with the National Education Union
The UN acknowledges the depth of the food crisis — but capitalism is to blame
A new UN report confirms that global shortages are not simply a result of the war between two major grain producers, but due to the long-standing agribusiness practices of hoarding, speculation and profiteering, reports BERT SCHOUWENBURG

FOLLOWING a request from the United Nations plenary meeting of December 16 2021, the special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhiri, has submitted an interim report to the general assembly that includes an examination of the issues emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on food security and nutrition.

In his summary, he states that there is a food crisis, yet most national governments have not come together with a substantive, international response. His report highlights structural constraints and outlines how a just transition to agroecology could provide a way forward.

According to Fakhiri’s well-researched paper, hunger has been on the rise since 2015. In 2021, between 702 million and 828m people were affected, 103m more than during the 2019-20 period and 46m more than in 2020.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Ralah Mohamed Salim
Northwest Africa / 14 July 2025
14 July 2025

We must remember Morocco’s land grab of the Sahrawi people’s territory continues with French and British support, writes BERT SCHOUWENBURG, looking into the origins of the annexation

Supporters of Argentina's former President Cristina Fernandez gather outside her home one week after the nation's Supreme Court upheld her corruption conviction in Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 17, 2025
Features / 26 June 2025
26 June 2025

Cristina Kirchner’s imprisonment follows a familiar pattern across Latin America, where courts silence popular leaders — but massive street protests in her support might make this move an Establishment own goal, writes BERT SCHOUWENBURG

Power to the people: restoring and reimagining local government democracy
Features / 14 May 2025
14 May 2025

With turnout plummeting and faith in Parliament collapsing, BERT SCHOUWENBURG explains how radical local government reform — including devolved taxation and removal of party politics from town halls — could restore power to communities currently ignored by profit-obsessed MPs

A retiree rallies calling for higher pensions and against au
Features / 1 April 2025
1 April 2025
After brutal police crackdowns on pensioners and the forced approval of secret IMF deals, trade unions are finally responding to grassroots pressure and fighting back against savage neoliberal reforms, reports BERT SCHOUWENBURG
Similar stories
A rally demanding changes to the Trump administration’s re
Features / 13 December 2024
13 December 2024
Global South governments’ sovereignty and ability to decide future economic policy are severely compromised by signing free trade agreements, whose terms are heavily weighted in favour of the already wealthy countries of the global North, writes BERT SCHOUWENBURG
An aerial view showing a flooded New Road Cricket ground in
Editorial: / 21 October 2024
21 October 2024
Pupils eating school dinners, March 2007
TUC Congress 2024 / 10 September 2024
10 September 2024
We need a ‘right to food’ enshrined in law and universal free school meals, as 7.2 million households face food insecurity after years of devastating failed Tory policies, writes ANNETTE MANSELL-GREEN
Full Marx / 26 August 2024
26 August 2024
The ‘degrowth’ debate raises critical issues to which only a Marxist approach can provide answers, argues the Marx Memorial Library