Letter: Cash crops cause water crisis
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: In your important front-page lead "World is running out of water" (25 January), you end by suggesting that global water shortages result from the need to feed a fast-growing world population. Yet it won't have escaped readers' notice that the crop you previously referred to is not a food at all, but Egyptian cotton.
The world's agribusiness conglomerates would like us to believe that the root problem is one of producing food for the hungry. However, it is cash-cropping that causes the greatest hardship and ecological damage.
Charities such as Oxfam, Christian Aid, Cafod and Safe have long united in condemning this pernicious practice, whereby poor countries cut down forests and divert precious water resources to grow cash crops such as coffee, tobacco, sugar or chocolate, which they sell on the world market for a pittance.
When we made our BBC2 documentary Sex, Drugs and Dinner, coffee farmers in the Dominican Republic showed us how they were being forced by low prices to turn to new higher-yield coffee plants which demanded more water and light - ie yet more deforestation and costly irrigation.
It's an oft-quoted statistic that half the children in Ghana are starving, and half the land is growing chocolate for export to us. As you point out, Egypt is already a heavy importer of foodstuffs and it is cash-cropping, a con-trick which promises riches and delivers hunger and destruction.
CHARLIE HARRIS
Footloose Films
London NW3
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments