12 January 2009

1 Billion Worldwide Go Hungry

We have had record harvests worldwide the last two years, but nearly 1 billion people are undernourished.

It's down to the cost of food.

Global wheat and maize prices have more than doubled. Rice prices have tripled. Kenya announced this week a food emergency, where a quarter of their people are under threat.

Part of this is down to a growth in biofuels (it's ominous that Obama is from a corn state). Instead of grain going to food supplies, it is made into fuel. If you fill a petrol tank of a 4x4 with biofuel, that's enough grain to feed one poor person for a year.

Instead of biofuels, we need more electric cars, powered by clean electricity (not electricity from coal-powered stations).

Instead of bailing out banks, perhaps we should use the 43% we own (in the new Lloyds HBOS) and help developing countries with credit, agricultural aid, and food aid.

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