Since food is that important to the current federal government, I wonder what Mr. Fantino and his cabinet colleagues think about this week's release from the UN's rapporteur on Canada's declining food security. Actually, we already know the answer to that.

It was good of Minister Fantino to respond to my article, but it would have proved far more productive if he had just listened to the professionals in his own department. They possess the training, on-the-ground experience, and clear-headed compassion to help Canada make a greater difference.

Just as we are learning of the new pressures on the demand for food among the marginalized, news broke of the ironic reality that Canadians waste $27 billion worth of food each year. If we broaden the issue out to include the United States, things don't look any better. It appears as though North Americans waste food on a grand scale.

We are lucky to live in Canada, a prosperous nation. Sadly, Canadians not being able to afford food exists today. In fact, close to 900,000 individuals turn to food banks for assistance each month across the country -- a number equivalent to the entire population of New Brunswick. This is unacceptable.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food will present his preliminary findings on food security in Canada on May 16 in Ottawa. It's my hope that this will put child hunger squarely on the political agenda in Canada. We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but hunger is something that we increasingly see among the families that bring their children to the hospital for medical attention.

Supporting more people on a finite planet is a serious challenge. But in a world where hunger and obesity are both epidemics, reproduction rates can't be the main problem. And when we look at issues that are often blamed on overpopulation, we see that overconsumption is a greater factor in environmental destruction.

We were going into battle against poverty, and we were going to win. But the battlefield was strewn relics of past attempts; most common were rusted water pumps. We naively thought that we could simply "engineer" better solutions. We couldn't.

Small-scale farming, especially using "organic" methods, is much better in terms of environmental and biodiversity impact. But is it a practical way to feed seven billion people?