Stark Numbers: Food Solutions, not Promises
Written by Asinus Asinum Fricat on June 10, 2008 – 3:09 pm -Here are the stark numbers today:
Global food prices force about 100 million people into hunger.
High food prices are pushing 30 million Africans into poverty.
About 850 million people are suffering from chronic hunger worldwide.
Food prices have hit the highest levels in real terms in 30 years.
Price of rice has gone up by 75% globally.
Global food prices rose by 43% in 2007 alone.
The US has diverted about 40 million tons of maize to produce ethanol.
An acre of maize produces only 50 gallons of gasoline.
EU plans to get 10% of auto fuel from Bio-energy by 2020.
Food riots and food wars are not just taking place in the streets of Egypt and in Mexico, they are taking place in the corridors of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN) Read more »
Tags: Environment, FAO, G8 Meeting, Rome Conference, UN, World Food Crisis
Posted in Diaries | 2 Comments »
Obscene: Mugabe’s arrival at food summit provokes outrage
Written by Asinus Asinum Fricat on June 4, 2008 – 8:16 am -He’s turned up again like a bad penny, or a bad smell! Whichever. President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is back in Rome, staying in five-star accommodation for the duration of a United Nations food summit while his people starve as a result of his disastrous farm policies.
Tags: , Dictator Mugabe, Food Scarcity, Rome Conference
Posted in Food | 1 Comment »