Will the next war be fought over food shortages?

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International spotlight on food crisis

 

 

 

World's finance chiefs say shortages, soaring prices could put poor

countries in jeopardy

 

 

 

Steven R. Weisman, New York Times

 

April 14, 2008

 

 

 

Washington - --

 

The world's economic ministers declared Sunday that shortages and

skyrocketing prices for food posed a potentially greater threat to economic

and political stability than the turmoil in capital markets.

 

The ministers, conferring in the shadow of a slumping U.S. economy that

threatens to pull down the economies of other countries, turned their

attention to the food crisis and called on the wealthiest countries to

fulfill pledges to help prevent starvation and disorder in Asia, Africa and

Latin America.

 

" Throughout the weekend we have heard again and again from ministers in

developing countries and emerging economies that this is a priority issue, "

said Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank. " We have to put our money

where our mouth is now, so that we can put food into hungry mouths. It is as

stark as that. "

 

Zoellick said that almost half of the $500 million that the World Food

Program recently requested in additional pledges for food aid this year had

been committed, but that the program would not meet a deadline of raising

the money by May 1.

 

The World Food Program is seeking the aid, on top of nearly $3 billion

already committed, because of shortfalls in food distribution resulting from

higher prices.

 

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary

Fund, said the food crisis posed questions about the survivability of

democracy and political regimes.

 

" As we know in the past, sometimes those questions lead to war, " he said.

" We now need to devote 100 percent of our time to these questions. "

 

World Bank and IMF officials noted that political instability had already

hit countries as disparate as Haiti, Egypt, the Philippines and Indonesia

because of food shortages, forcing some countries to limit food exports.

 

 

 

 

 

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Some ministers from poor countries, for example, are growing impatient with

the way the West is addressing global warming by subsidizing and encouraging

conversion of corn, sugar cane and other food products into substitutes for

oil. The shift is helping to drive up prices, they say.

 

Strauss-Kahn said he had heard from many financial officials this weekend

that the West's focus on fuel, at the expense of food, was a " crime against

humanity. " Though he noted that the IMF is primarily a monetary and

financial agency, he said it would try to " review its tools " to help

countries pay for food imports.

 

 

 

 

 

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Full story:

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/14/MNH5104U6V.DTL

 

 

 

OR:

 

http://tinyurl.com/44thax