Food crisis threatens 22 countries, U.N. says

Twenty-two nations are particularly threatened by the global food crisis that has seen soaring prices increase hunger, leading to protests and riots in some countries, the United Nations said.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) list of 22 "particularly vulnerable" countries: Eritrea, Burundi, Comoros, Tajikistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Haiti, Zambia, Central African Republic, Mozambique, Tanzania, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Malawi, Cambodia, North Korea, Rwanda, Botswana, Niger, Kenya.

A report prepared by the FAO for a summit in Rome next week said the countries are vulnerable because they suffer from chronic hunger and are forced to import food and fuel. The three-day conference that opens Tuesday is expected to draw a number of world leaders.

The FAO said it will provide a "historic chance" to relaunch the fight against hunger and poverty and boost agricultural production in developing countries.

High oil prices, growing demand, flawed trade policies, panic buying and speculation have sent food prices soaring worldwide.

[AP]

Congress gives lucrative subsidies to U.S. farmers and cuts international aid programs

Despite pleas from humanitarian groups to focus on the global food crisis, the US Congress approved a $290 billion bill that gives lucrative subsidies to farmers and cuts international aid programs.

The bill won such broad support that the veto threatened by George Bush is almost certain to be overridden, turning the bill into law. Most of its money goes to food aid for needy Americans and payments that farmers receive whether they grow crops or not.

Less than one per cent of the bill goes to food aid for foreign nations, according to an Associated Press tally.

"Pandering to wealthy farmers and special interests at the expense of women and children who face malnutrition is not what Americans expect of their elected officials," the leaders of Oxfam America, Mercy Corps and the International Medical Corps said in a letter released last week.

[Excerpt of an article by Elana Schor, The Guardian]

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