Food Riots Could Spread, UN Chief Warns

[tekisui]

Rising food prices could threaten political stability around the world, the UN's leading humanitarian official said yesterday.

Sir John Holmes, the undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and the UN's emergency relief co-ordinator, was speaking after two days of rioting in Egypt over the soaring cost of basic foodstuffs.

He told a conference in Dubai that rising prices would spark unrest across vulnerable nations. Average prices have risen 40 per cent across the world in less than a year.

Sir John said: "The security implications should also not be underestimated as food riots are already being reported across the globe.

"Current food price trends are likely to increase sharply both the incidence and depth of food insecurity."

As well as the riots in Egypt, rising food costs have been blamed for violent unrest in Haiti, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Mauritania, Mozambique and Senegal. Protests have also occurred in Uzbekistan, Yemen, Bolivia and Indonesia.

China, India, Pakistan, Cambodia and Vietnam have curbed rice exports to ensure there is enough for their own people.

Experts believe food insecurity should be treated as seriously as climate change.

link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/09/wriots109.xml

[Cerridwen]

1. "food insecurity"?!

Beg pardon? I thought that was US-Newspeak; I thought the UK had its own Newspeak? They borrowing ours now; or did we borrow theirs?

Food insecurity? If my translator microbes are still working and my memory is somewhat intact; doesn't that translate to starving or starvation?

Or maybe hunger. Maybe it just means hunger.

I'm so confused. With whom are we at war now?

:nuke:

[SpiralHawk]

5. Coming soon to the USA

Plant those open-pollinated seeds, and then save them after the harvest.

2009 is going to make 2008 look like a feast.

[Cerridwen]

6. Gods, you are so right.

In my lifetime. I'm actually seeing and living this in my lifetime.

The dystopian SciFi and fantasy I read as a teen is becoming a reality.

[gateley]

7. Yep - I posted the exact same thing

in another thread.

[Igel]

12. It's UNese.

And it has a wide range of meaning, from starvation to not being sure if you'll have food next week. In one notorious study it covered missing a meal in the last year because of lack of money.

"Food insecurity" sounds like a nasty euphemism, but it's not bad as such things go. It's a euphemism when it covers starvation, but it's not when it stands for missing the occasional meal, having short rations from time to time, or simply not being sure about future food supplies.

[AteAlien]

2. don't forget the Phillipines

They are trying to get assurance that their rice import contracts are honored so their people won't starve.

[tekisui]

4. I am planting a BIG garden this year.

[AteAlien]

3. and Mexico

remember the corn meal protests?

[Canuckistanian]

8. The Thai rice price is increasing rapidly

And the Thailand rice export price sets the market, so I'm told.

And right now it's sky-high.

The Chinese are getting a big reprieve via their government subsidies, but how long can they keep it up?

As for the rest of the Asian countries, I predict we'll see MORE "fallout".

This isn't looking good.

[samsingh]

9. there is enough food in the world - it needs proper distribution

[lastliberalintexas]

11. That is true, but it's also probably

not sustainable at current levels for that much longer. Short term solutions exist, but they of course involve the hated socialism, so the powers that be will ignore them. But long term, we have to have discussions about voluntarily reducing population growth.

[samsingh]

13. we do need population planning

[Rosemary2205]

10. Fuck Ethanol

And fuck the progressives who used to be on here every day pushing that shit. - We tried to tell them.

[lonestarnot]

14. Thinks costing more and shrinkage is standard practice lately.

K & R