Surge in food prices could lead to increased unrest, warns senior UN aid official

Rioting over rising food prices last week

7 April 2008

The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today called on donors to respond to the agency’s appeal for additional funds to deliver lifesaving assistance, warning that the global surge in food prices could lead to further tensions such as those witnessed recently in Haiti and other countries.

“What we see in Haiti is what we’re seeing in many of our operations around the world – rising prices that mean less food for the hungry. A new face of hunger is emerging: even where food is available on the shelves, there are now more and more people who simply cannot afford it,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.

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Note: Some questions are getting more pressing each day:
-When will UN Agencies deem it necessary to officially accept the validity of a lifestyle which immediately could help to alleviate the problem: vegetarianism.
-When will decision makers in rich countries consider feeding hungry people as more important than feeding farm animals?

Source: Surge in food prices could lead to increased unrest, warns senior UN aid official

Link: As food prices soar and hundreds of millions go hungry, experts from around the world will this week present a new approach for ensuring food security, at the intergovernmental plenary .....
Link: Death toll rises in Haitian food price protests
Link: The U.N.'s World Food Program is struggling as costs of food and fuel skyrocket while the numbers of people needing help surge across the globe. Millions are in danger
Link: U.N. coordinator warns of global food crisis
Link: UN expert decries 'assassination' by hunger of millions of children


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European Vegetarian Union: 'Vegetarianism - a symbol of solidarity with hungry people' (en)