Posted on 07/15/2007 3:08:14 PM PDT by rocksblues
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.”
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 years”. 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,” 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.”
maybe the various UN officials in charge of the program could reduce the amount they skim off the top. That should feed a few people.
I think it is “nuanced” in the story.
What a load - the UN doesn’t feed anybody -
All the UN does is redistribute the wealth of producing nations to non-producing nations.
Ethanol is probably dirtier than gasoline. Ethanol has less energy per gallon than gasoline. Ethanol production makes food more expensive. But, the federal government has determined it’s in their best interests to appease farmers and keep corn prices as high as possible. Can you say Iowa caucus?
I don’t worship at the altar of environmentalism. Anthropogenic global warming is a fraud and you are paying more for food and fuel because most of humanity are sheep.
Of course the UN can’t afford to feed starving Africans. Their budget is shot renting limos, paying hookers, and buying catered dinners for the palace in New York.
Many of the world food programs are actually corporate welfare. US food aid requires the grains be purchased from US companies and then shipped to the country in need. It taked up to three weeks for the huge amounts of food/grain to reach many starving countries. These US companies (and their Senate/Congressional reps) oppose a more cost effective way of providing food by having US/UN funds used to purchase food from neighboring countries not suffering from drought and shipping it to the nearby starving country. The same smount of food can be brought for less amounts of money because the shipping costs are alot lower, and it takes less time to ship from a neighboring country versus from US. GWB has been trying to change this but Congress has been able to stop him from doing it.
Here’s a thought, how bout they stop wasting money attempting to keep peace they can’t keep, stop wasting money trying to cool a world that shows no evidence of warming and stop puting idiots like Robert Mugabe in charge of economics.
You mean all that pork Sheets Byrd brought to WV hasn't solved the problem?
Most poverty and famine is a result of too little freedom, not too little money or food. Sometimes moving to where the food is, is not an option- due to oppression.
Control freak governments gain power and leverage by precipitating crises, then setting themselves up as the sugar daddy for the needy.
I guess my overall point is the rejection of the notion that the planet is overpopulated or unsustainable. What we need is a Mussolini moment for these dictators around the world.
The irony here is so thick ya can cut it with a knife .... "fuel or food" declares this Useless Nabob (UN) official
May the un die from a thousand cuts.
I like the way Rush Limbaugh put it. It’s not the unequal distribution of wealth, it’s the unequal distribution of capitalism.
Oh, how cynical! What about all that money they save by not paying parking tickets?
I never knew the job of the UN was to feed the world.
Let all those rich rock stars that “care” do it.
lol Rush has been reading our posts!
I thought it was to produce child porn by video taping themselves raping children in Africa.
Don't worry, the United States will continue to do it ourselves just like we've been doing. But stop complaining about us using 25% of the world's energy - growing your food is a big part of what we're doing with it. ;)
“I don’t buy that.”
Neither do I. This is the only country in the world where there are obese poor who drive SUVs to the social ministry to ask for a handout.
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