UPDATE! 300 children die of hunger, every hour of every day. Can you please help Save The Children's work to stop this - and sign their petition?

[AnnMumsnet]

Save the Children have asked us if we can help them change the fact that 300 children die of hunger, every hour of every day - even though there's enough food in the world for everyone.

What do you think? There's a petition here which they'd love you to sign - but they also want your thoughts on what they should be telling the G8 (the annual gathering of first world governments), who are meeting next week and actually have the power to change things.

So, if you could change the world so that no child died for lack of food - what would you do? Please do post your suggestions or questions here, and don't forget to let us know if you've signed the petition.

If you want to help spread the word about this via Twitter, Facebook etc - please feel free to use the hashtag: #breakthechain with #G8 if you want.

Thanks
MNHQ

[FaceForRadio]

signed.

[ripsishere]

Me too. It is scandalous.

[MomOrMum]

Signed after the live webchat with Glenys Kinnock yesterday.

It is sickening that we live in a world with problems of obesity in some countries and malnutrition in others when there is enough food for everyone.

[Sashlett]

Hi there, I've signed the petition. It's really unfair that some children don't survive simply because of where they are born. There is enough food in the world and it's up to world leaders to take action!

[amyagnew]

I've also signed. This campaign is so important because not only does it try to ensure that children have enough food, but also that children have enough of the right food. Without this, their bodies and minds can't develop properly. It's unthinkable what it would feel like as a mother to not be able to feed one's child properly.

[VagolaJahooli]

Signed, developed countries should be paying fair prices for produced from third world countries, it shouldn't be a matter of whether we can afford, if we can't we change the way we live so we can. Demanding that we pay so little for chocolate and coffee that the farmers and produces of these products resort to child labour and even slavery to keep prices down is unbelievable. If we pay fairer prices farmers will be able to make better profits and pay workers a fair price, giving them a better chance to live a decent life and feed their kids.

[oricella]

I will be signing, but I am not entirely sure the petition is asking for the right things: it is not so much a matter of agriculture producing more food, or even more nutritious food; or of producing fortified foods. I'm not even sure that setting a specific global target will help - meeting existing goals (MDGs mostly) will go a long way towards breaking the chain. The issue that needs to be addressed is about getting the right foods available in the right places - that is either going to be by making food available that comes from elsewhere (which is not really a long term solution; big business would no doubt make a profit out of big orders of fortified shreddies) or by focussing on finding ways for communities to live in environments that are increasingly short on water, face desertification or are subject to the unpredictable impacts of a changing climate. I wish I knew how we could achieve that though.

Lots of these things will be discussed in Rio next month. If the G8 was serious about ending child nutrition DC would get himself over there and make some real commitments on sustainable agriculture and on safeguarding our natural environments.

[ThePieSmuggler]

I've signed, and linked to the petition on FB too

[gazzalw]

Should be ensuring that the food when delivered to Developing World Countries is actually stored correctly to be used/distributed as intended rather than having to be discarded because it's mouldered in inappropriate storage.

[Iggly]

I saw a picture recently of piles and piles of wheat which was rotting in India. It was rotting because they'd had a bumper harvest.

However India has a lot of poverty. Now why the hell was that food not being distributed to those in need?! I suspect the answer is profit.
Disgusting.
Petition signed.

[Iggly]

rotting wheat

Because the deficit is more important than people dying from malnutrition

[catonlap]

Signed and shared link

[fallingandlaughing]

I don't know what the solution is, but something needs to be done. The proposals on the petition all seem reasonable.

All I can do is sign the petition, I don't know what else to suggest. It is a very important campaign.

[LindsayWagner]

I've signed. I think we need to make damn sure we hit the MDGs for a start. And agitate here to counter the 'we can't afford to feed other people's children when they can afford to have a space programme' narrative that's infecting discussion of ALL aid to developing countries.

[Crumblemum]

I hate the way things seem to go in an out of fashion. A couple of years ago while our economy was booming the economy gave loads of space to stuff like this and green issues, now just radio silence. So tough to stay engaged. Thanks MN for the prod - will sign now.

[StarbellySneetch]

Going to sign now - echo Crumblemum, thanks for reminding us about this stuff MNHQ: it's hard to keep it in the front of your mind while things are a bit grim here. But we have to.

[Katn]

Signed!
"During the two day G8 Summit that you are attending, more than 14,000 children will die as a result of malnutrition."

So dreadful

[catwomanga]

I've signed because, as Geldof said, no child should have to go to bed hungry, let alone starve. But everyone seems to be skirting round the real issue of why these children are starving in the first place.
There needs to be greater education of the personal responsibility of birth control. We are a planet of 7 billion and counting, and if we don't take a sympathetic, ethical course of action, the problems Westerners think of as "over there" will be apparent over here too. We are all consumers.

Some factoids from www.overpopulation.org/faq.html

?1983 Year that world grain production per person began to decline(ecofuture.org)
?1985 Year that humanity's demand for resources first exceeded supply(mec.ca)
?1989 Year that world fish catch per person began to decline(ecofuture.org)
?Only 17% of the world's population lives in industrialized countries
?The average life expectancy is 61, up from 40 in just 50 years. The numbers of people 65 and older make up 10-15% of the world population today and is expected to increase to 20-30% by 2050.

[painterlyswoosh]

Shocking picture of the rotting wheat. It makes no sense at all.

Thanks for the reminder MNHQ

[TheStandard]

Signed

Haven't read the linked article, but I suspect the 'rotting wheat' stuff in India is down to massive corruption in local & national politics there. Not that that's a reason not to give development aid to India - it is a reason to keep an eye on corruption and transparency in governments though.

I know it's not directly related to nutrition, but I'd be very glad to see the G8 coming together with tough measures to address massive tax avoidance by Western corporations in developing countries. Might give some of them a chance to set up functioning food distribution programmes of their own.

[bronze]

Can someone tell me what the tick box at the bottom says as I'm on my phone and it's half covered. Thanks

[AnnMumsnet]

bronze - it says "To keep costs low, we may email you about how you can help our work, unless you tick the box."

[bronze]

Thank you

[PuzzleRocks]

Signed and shared.

[JugglingWithTangentialOranges]

What would you do ?

I'd ask MNHQ to very kindly have this thread on discussions of the day tomorrow

And ask us all to remember that our actions really can save the lives of young children in developing countries.

Thank you !