'Enough Food For Everyone' Campaign To Raise Awareness Of Tax Avoidance And 'Rigged' Markets

'Enough Food For Everyone' Campaign To Raise Awareness Of Tax Avoidance And 'Rigged' Markets
ill Gates, Desmond Tutu and One Direction, alongside a coalition of hundreds of charities and faith groups are to launch a huge drive against food poverty - aimed at raising awareness about both tax avoidance, "rigged" food markets and starvation.
The "Enough Food For Everyone If.." campaign will deliberately address financial irresponsibility from the world's richest, and the coalition say they want to shift focus from aid "to address the structural causes of hunger."
It will call on the G8, chaired this year by the UK, to launch a conference on tax transparency and "reinvigorate the global challenge to tax havens"


Charities supporting the campaign, dubbed "the next Make Poverty History", include Unicef, Oxfam, ActionAid and Save the Children. It hopes to emulate the success of that movement, and its ubiquitous white bracelets.
But Oxfam's Max Lawson, head of advocacy and public policy, told The Guardian this time around the campaign is "more radical" because Make Poverty History's goal of debt cancellation was "broadly accepted by governments."There are clear unilateral steps the UK government could take, for example closing down tax loopholes, where the UK has a lot of influence." Cameron has already agreed to some of the campaigners demands, confirming 0.7% GDP will be ring-fenced for overseas aid.

In a report published to co-incide with the launch, campaigners estimate that 28% of children in developing countries are underweight or stunted. In a joint statement, the charities have called on politicians to take action on food prices, the "rigged food system" and small farmers. "There is enough food in the world to feed everyone. Yet one billion people go to bed hungry every night and over two million children die from malnutrition.  "Food prices are higher than ever before. Even in the UK, many hardworking people struggle to find the money to feed their families."
Tutu, one of the campaign's most high-profile backers, said in a statement: "“Hunger is not an incurable disease or an unavoidable tragedy. We can make sure no child goes to bed hungry. We can stop mothers from starving themselves to feed their families. We can save lives. We can do all of this, IF we are prepared to do something about it.
"If we challenge our leaders to take action. If they listen to us. It’s time the world’s decision-makers came to the right decision on hunger. It’s time to end the unnecessary suffering caused by the failure of the current food system. We can make hunger a thing of the past if we act now."