It's time to get to the point (seven).

People are hungry. Really hungry.

Desperate for food
So hungry that in many parts of the world people are seeing themselves forced to eat tree bark or mud pies (literally mud with salt and butter) to quell hunger pangs. The world food crisis is here. A complex problem brought about by bad government policies, soaring oil costs, use of grain-based ethanol, emerging economies like China who are suddently eating more meat and of course climate change.

What can be done?
The G8 leaders are currently in Rome, trying to figure this thing out. Some, like Canada, are pledging extra cash to inject immediate relief for this global crisis. And it's a good start. But here's the thing, to really make an impact towards eliminating global poverty rich countries need to commit -- not promise, offer vague pledges, pat eachother on the back -- but really commit and follow through on giving 0.7% of their GNP to international aid.

For this we need the political will.
Canadians can rally behind this with pride because hey, it was our idea to begin with! Former Prime Minister Pearson headed the committee who calculated this magic number. We've promised to do it many times... but we haven't actually done it. In 2007, Canada gave a paltry 0.28% -- a fraction of what we can easily afford to give and must give.

So that's where you come in.
It's time to send-off Prime Minister Stephen Harper to the upcoming G8 Summit in Japan with this message: “Get to the Point Seven Percent!”

There are many reasons to do this and a few ways to achieve this; send a quick note and participate in a Make Poverty History group event in your area - like ours


My friend Filomena made an excellent point to me the other day, she said "... I also think that much of the world has a lot of rethinking to do about how and what we consume - and more so what we waste."

Food for thought.