Leslie says:
I wonder what good the summit will reallly do apart from wardoff starvation from pot bellied politicians and corperations. I see a side effect not yet mentioned once in anyhting I have read of this plight. The situation created by Monsanto in creating seeds which are viable just once and do not produce viable seed. This will lead to further poverty and starvation as peple can no longer afford the starter seeds. These could be distributed by the storms and end up takin gover crop land which will no longer give the seed and we will be all in the pooper.
World leaders will meet in Rome next week to discuss ways of preventing mass starvation and instability because of soaring food prices.
The summit, which is to be hosted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, is expected to hear arguments for the establishment of a global food fund and see pledges of food aid from wealthy countries to poor nations to ward off the food shortages.
Leader will also discuss the increased production of biofuels, which is blamed for a reduction in arable land available for food production, as farmers turn to growing crops for fuel. New international guidelines on biofuel production are expected to be discussed.
Britain is expected to argue for aid in the form of fertilisers and seeds to be distributed in time for planting for next season.
"Failure to reach a deal would hit the poorest hard. Literally tens of millions of people will be denied a chance to break out of poverty," Prime Minister Gordon Brown reportedly said last night.
The summit comes as food shortages and send the cost of food soaring sparking unrest in nations such as Haiti, Cameroon, Niger and Egypt, where riots have broken out. Food shortages and the related political instability are seen by some as a more pressing long-term challenges than terrorism.
The food price spike comes as China and India, which have seen unprecedented increases in wealth, display a growing appetite for meat - a food which is more expensive to produce than traditional staples such as rice.
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