Global Food Prices Dubbed a 'Silent Tsunami' (by World Food Program)

[Barrett808]

Source: PBS

An additional 100 million people, previously not requiring food assistance, are now not able to buy food, said WFP executive director Josette Sheeran in a statement before the meeting.

"This is the new face of hunger -- the millions of people who were not in the urgent hunger category six months ago but now are," she said.

The summit in London brought together 25 experts in the field, scientists and representatives from the European Union and Africa. The goal was to find ways to boost food supplies, which have dropped low enough to incite riots and protests in several developing countries.

Unrest tied to food prices has been reported in Cameroon, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Egypt. Widespread riots in Haiti have resulted in several deaths.

The prices of rice, maize and wheat have hit record highs and have doubled in the past year, according to Bloomberg News.

The price escalation has been especially evident in recent weeks. In Asia, the price of rice has more than doubled in less than two months, from $460 a ton at the beginning of March to more than $1,000 currently, Sheeran told the BBC.

Read more: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/international/jan-june08/food_04-23.html