In this issue of the WHY Newsletter, we encourage readers to take a look at the many crises facing the world's economy today and their devastating effects on the poor. We turn the spotlight on a few community organizations bettering their local economies as well as artists who are making a difference. We also focus on the unseen costs of biofuels, or agrofuels, which are contributing to the sharp rise in food costs worldwide. The WHY Newsletter also examines the sub-prime crunch — the economic crash heard 'round the world. In other news, this issue takes a look at quality of life issues for people living with HIV/AIDS as they age. Finally, we invite you to join us at the 2008 WHY-Chapin Awards Dinner.

We also invite the members of our readership who work for innovative anti-poverty organizations to apply for the Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Awards. The awards honor organizations that go beyond charity to help people improve their own lives and the communities in which they live. Deadline: June 16, 2008. Download the application in PDF format now.

The WHY Newsletter now presents its regular column by Executive Director and WHY Co-Founder Bill Ayres. Below, please read Bill's piece for this month, Why Is There a World Food Crisis?

We see the headlines almost every day: "Food Riots in Haiti," "The Price of Rice Doubles," "Mexicans Can Not Afford Tortillas" and dozens more. Rising food prices are devastating for the poor of the world who spend most of their available income on food in order to survive. The world is experiencing its worst food crisis in decades, not in one or two drought prone countries but in a growing number of countries all over the world. Why is this happening?   read more

In The Global Age, Bigger May Not Be Better
by Tristan Quinn-Thibodeau

In the face of multiple crises in the global economy, potentially caused by a lack of oversight and the difficulty of anticipating effects on such a large system, community organizations are making small, local economies viable and are changing perceptions about the scale of successful economies. Growth is the continual goal of economic policies and the established means for a successful economy. But now, the housing loan crisis, the attendant financial crisis, the looming recession, rising food prices, and looming energy shortages all seem to have been due to short term decisions whose long-term or global implications were not realized; growth gone too far. In this global economy it can be almost impossible to anticipate the far-reaching effect of a particular policy, technological innovation, or financial decision, and as we are seeing, those effects can be devastating. Fortunately, non-profit organizations are creating an alternative model of local communities and social life that is counter to the global economic model and one made more viable as new global problems arise.

An example of the difficulty of managing a global economy is rising food costs, which are due partly to the increased use of land for the production of biofuels to replace oil. Very few analysts or policy experts anticipated the impact biofuel production would have on food since the two seemed to operate in different economic spheres and also because the effects of growing biofuels didn’t occur in the area where they were grown; biofuels produced in Brazil and the U.S. led to food riots in Haiti, Egypt, and elsewhere. However, in the kind of system envisioned by Unity Barn Raisers, a community development organization in the small, rural town of Unity, Maine, the people who create goods and the people who use those goods remain in close interaction, hopefully producing a more stable system where people can more immediately see the impact of their decisions. Two of Unity Barn raiser's main principles are that it “is committed to local self-reliance, to a future where more of our community's needs are provided by local people, businesses, and institutions … to the careful examination of any project it may undertake or support, and to proceeding with a project only if the benefits clearly outweigh any adverse impacts," and that “Unity Barn Raisers will not support any project (no matter what the benefits) that threatens Unity's natural environment or small-town character.” It recognized that even though its mission was to create jobs in the small town, it could not do so unless it addressed the problems caused by large-scale economies.

To read more of Tristan's story, click here.

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Quality or Quantity?: Quality of Life Issues Among Aging Adults with HIV/AIDS
by Candice Comisi

When people were first being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, many thought that their lives were sure to end quickly. As more is known about the condition and people are living longer, there appears an obvious shortage of resources for people living with HIV/AIDS. Affordable housing, adequate health care, and stable employment or income are among many things crucial to the long-term survival of people aging with HIV/AIDS.

An article published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine reports that among a control group of 478 people living with HIV/AIDS, the loss of employment due to their HIV status was highest among women and those who lacked a secondary education. Of the study participants, 149 had lost their jobs and one out of three cited their health was a catalyst. One in five had been fired. Although people living with HIV/AIDS are protected under the Americans with Disability Act (1990) under federal law, this only applies to businesses with 14 or more workers. Laws for smaller businesses vary from state to state, subjecting many people with HIV/AIDS to potential discrimination and lack of employment.

As discussed in the New York Times, the Center for Diseases Control reports that the number of people age 50 and older living with HIV has increased 77 percent from 2001 to 2005. People living with HIV/AIDS years after a diagnosis are facing previously unexpected problems in an array of chronic co-morbid diseases and conditions, and face high rates of depression. Furthermore, those who were diagnosed assumed their lives would come to an end within a couple of years. As quoted in an article from the Medical College of Wisconsin's website HealthLink, "There were a lot of people [living with HIV/AIDS] maxing out their credit cards and giving away things. They really thought that they weren't going to be here for longer than a year or so." Those living with HIV/AIDS much longer than expected are in dire need of options and support as many need to start their lives over from scratch, as many quit their jobs or would not seek employment after the discovery of their status.

To read more of Candice's piece, click here.

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Artists Band Together to Fight Hunger and Poverty
by Brandi Cooke

Guitar riffs. Flashing lights. Cheering fans. Cans of food.

Cans of food?

This year, Crosby, Stills, and Nash and Jackson Browne are asking concert goers to bring non-perishable food with them to help the community food banks and soup kitchens meet the increasing needs of hungry people in the United States. This is a normal scene at a show when Artists Against Hunger & Poverty has teamed up with a recording artist. AAHP is a program of WHY (World Hunger Year) that works with charities and artists at the grassroots level to connect local hunger and poverty charities with funds, food, and benefit tickets at local concerts.

In addition to encouraging donations (cans or monetary), artists can donate tickets to shows or autographed memorabilia to be auctioned off to help fight hunger. In 2005, Def Leppard fans exchanged food cans for tickets to a show in Boston. Both Michael McDonald and Chicago donated VIP passes for meet-and-greets for the entire tour. Often artists will promote the charities onstage or in interviews and encourage their fans to join them in supporting these efforts. Crosby, Stills, and Nash are hosting food drives and donating premium tickets for their upcoming tour to help in the fight against hunger. WHY's partners this year, CSN and Jackson Browne, share a long lineage of fighting social injustice and poverty through their lyrics and actions making this the perfect match.

To read the rest of Brandi's article, please click here.

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Food or Fuel?: The Untold Price of Agrofuels
by Tejas Kadia

During the past few weeks, the world has witnessed food riots in a number of developing countries, including Haiti, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cameroon, Niger, Senegal, Morocco, Bangladesh, and Egypt, among others. Poor people everywhere are making their discontent and frustration with rising food prices known. In the past two months, rice prices have risen 75 percent to near historical levels. The price of wheat has jumped 120 percent during the past year; soy by 87 percent; and corn by 31 percent. Prices of these key staple crops have been on the rise since 2005, but have escalated in severity since 2007.

While several factors are involved in determining the price of food — from agrofuel production, to oil prices, to supply and demand scenarios — governments must focus on the bigger causal factors behind the recent price rises. Among these, the huge increase in agrofuels is a primary factor.

For years, food security experts warned of the devastating effects of biofuels. It appears that this warning has now become a reality, with food crops competing against fuel crops for arable land. To put this in perspective, the world's biofuels craze means that we are choosing to feed the rich man's SUV at the expense of feeding the poor man's mouth. According to the 2008 World Development Report, it takes more than 240 kilograms of corn — enough to feed one person for a year — to produce 100 liters of ethanol, enough to fill just one tank of an SUV.

To read the rest of this article, please visit The WHY Reporter.

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Dire Straits: The Sub-Prime Lending Crunch
by Ellie Hurley

At WHY, we have always striven to champion the work of organizations that are at the forefront of the anti-poverty movement. We pride ourselves in helping to develop strong programs that take a holistic and often unique approach to combating the institutionalized prejudice against those who are struggling to keep themselves afloat. Because of this, several years ago, we began to focus on groups working to fight predatory lending. Predatory lending is the "the practice of a lender deceptively convincing borrowers to agree to unfair and abusive loan terms, or systematically violating those terms in ways that make it difficult for the borrower to defend against."

At WHY's very first Agenda for Change, held in Atlanta Georgia during the summer of 2006, one of WHY's selected presenters was a group called Georgia Watch. As a part of their presentation Georgia Watch discussed the impact of predatory lending practices in poor areas of their community and the successful organizing tactics they'd deployed in order to fight the epidemic. At the time the idea was something discussed on the grassroots level, occasionally popping up in local media outlets and even more rarely finding its way to the pages of The New York Times. Enter the current mortgage crisis, and suddenly predatory lending is not just a practice affecting the poor, it is affecting us all. In a recent article on cnn.com it was reported that due to sub-prime lending, since January of this year, just 4 months 156,463 families have lost their homes to repossessions and there has been 650,000 foreclosure filings.

What does this mean? How did we get here? And where is this crisis going to lead us? Sub-prime lending is the practice of lending to borrowers at a higher rate than the prime rate and is a practice disproportionately found in communities of color and low income communities. Defenders of the practice claim it is not discriminatory, that it is simply offering a chance to accrue credit to those who are otherwise denied the opportunity due to poor credit histories. However, statistics show that sub-prime lenders often target people who are in dire situations and may not understand the implications of the loan they are receiving. Often these loans included extremely high interest rates and terms and conditions that are difficult to understand or not explained to the borrower at all. These terms frequently include seizure of collateral, and foreclosure. It's these practices that have taken the mortgage crisis from a sub-prime lending crisis to a main stream credit crisis.

To read the rest of Ellie's article, please click here.

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WHY-Chapin Awards Dinner: June 9, 2008
honoring Elvis Costello, Senator John Edwards, National Farm Workers Ministry, and WCBS Newsradio 880

Join WHY at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in New York City as we honor the 2008 WHY-Chapin Award Honorees: ASCAP-Harry Chapin Award recipient Elvis Costello, Senator John Edwards, National Farm Workers Ministry and WCBS Newsradio 880. WHY will also honor the 2007 Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Award winners.

Tables, tickets and journal ads can be purchased using our secure online ticket form. Tickets MUST be purchased by Monday, June 2 and journal ads by Monday, May 12.