Text 29263, 56 rader
Skriven 2007-07-17 05:24:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: UN
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I warned this would happen but was scoffed at by the liberal left here.  
Note he UN's concerns over biofuels and the impact on food p[rices.


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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/7345310a-32fb-11dc-a9e8-0000779fd2ac.html

UN warns it cannot afford to feed the world
By Javier Blas and Jenny Wiggins in London

Published: July 15 2007 22:01 | Last updated: July 15 2007 22:01

Rising prices for food have led the United Nations programme fighting 
famine in Africa and other regions to warn that it can no longer afford 
to feed the 90m people it has helped for each of the past five years on 
its budget. 

The World Food Programme feeds people in countries including Chad, 
Uganda and Ethiopia, but reaches a fraction of the 850m people it 
estimates suffers from hunger. It spent about $600m buying food in 2006. 
So far, the WFP has not cut its reach because of high commodities 
prices, but now says it could be forced to do so unless donor countries 
provide extra funds. 

Josette Sheeran, WFP executive director, said in an interview with the 
Financial Times: “In a world where our contributions are holding fairly 
steady, this [cost increase] means we are able to reach far less 
people.ö 

She said policymakers were becoming more concerned about the impact of 
biofuel demand on food prices and how the world would continue to feed 
its expanding population.

The warning could re-ignite the debate on food versus fuel amid concerns 
biofuel production will sustain food inflation and hit the world’s 
poorest people. 

The WFP said its purchasing costs had risen “almost 50 per cent in the 
last five yearsö. The UN organisation said the price it pays for maize 
had risen up to 120 per cent in the past sixth months in some countries. 

Biofuel demand is soaking up grain production as is rising consumption 
in emerging countries for animal feed. 

“We face the tightest agriculture markets in decades and, in same cases, 
on record,ö Ms Sheeran said. Global wheat stocks have fallen to the 
lowest level in 25 years, according to the US Department of Agriculture. 

Ms Sheeran added: “We are no longer in a surplus world.ö 

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