Where does all the world’s food go?

Another illustration from ActionAid’s ‘Let them eat promises‘ report, this one shows where the 08/09 harvest went.

As you can see, less than half of the crops grown feed people directly. A large proportion goes to animals, which are then eaten in turn – a very inefficient way to feed ourselves.

A growing percentage goes to biofuels, and this represents a double insult to the hungry. With oil prices low, biofuels don’t even make economic sense in the current market, and only survive because of ill-conceived targets and government subsidies.