Food Shortages Herald "New Era Of Hunger"
As More Countries Suffer Riots Over Rising Prices And Shortages Of Staples, Aid Groups Call For Relief
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'New Era Of Hunger' Looms
Recently, over thirty countries have been hit with riots or violent protests due to the rising cost of food, leading a top U.N. official to predict a "new era of hunger." Michelle Miller reports.
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A border guard sells rice at a government subsidized outlet at Nawabganj in Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 11, 2008. The price of food has skyrocketed around the world, leading to riots in some countries and fears of starvation in others. Experts say Bangladesh, a desperately poor and overpopulated nation, is one of the most vulnerable. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)
The toll includes a U.N. soldier who has been shot and killed in the capital while delivering food to his unit.
U.N. Mission spokeswoman Sophie Boutaud de la Combe said the soldier was shot Saturday afternoon and that he was a member of a 1,000-strong unit that deals with riots.
She said U.N. troops did not exchange fire, but had no further details.
The demonstrations began earlier in the week, in protest against rising food prices, and turned into riots.
The looting has made access to food even more difficult, doing little to ease widespread hunger among Haitians.
Port-au-Prince hospitals were filled with people injured in the riots, being treated by volunteers from the organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).
Wagner Pierre, who works for Medecins Sans Frontieres, said many of the wounds they were seeing were a result of bullets.
"In the last 4 days we have received 160 wounded, 40 of which were from gun bullet wounds," said Wagner.
Many of the injured were bystanders caught in crossfire, like David Saint Felix, who was wounded in the leg during the protests.
"I was passing through the Haitian marine base looking for my brother who was in the protests, when I was hit with a bullet in my leg," said Saint Felix.
The fighting across the capital was punctuated with calls for the Haitian president's resignation.
This afternoon, a Haitian senator said that parliament has voted to dismiss Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis.
President Rene Preval announced a drop in the price of rice Saturday in a bid to defuse anger over rising food prices.
After meeting with food importers in the national palace, Preval said the price of a 50-pound bag of rice will drop from US$51 to US$43 - a reduction of 15.7 percent.
The Haitian president said the government will use international aid money to subsidize the price of rice and that the private sector has agreed to knock US$3 off the price of each bag. Preval did not say when the price reduction would go into effect.
Preval also said he would ask Venezuela for help, especially about providing fertilizer for struggling farmers.
The announcements come in the wake of looting and clashes between hundreds of protesters and U.N. peacekeepers earlier this week. Protesters blame the government for failing to create jobs and control soaring food prices and some demonstrators called for Preval's resignation. The violence left at least five people dead.
On Saturday, U.N. military commander Maj. Gen. Carlos Alberto Dos Santos Cruz told The Associated Press that calm was returning across the country, with some transportation resuming and people going back to work.
The U.N. commander said that several social, economic and political changes are still needed in Haiti to maintain the present calm and address the increased cost of living. Cruz did not provide specifics.
"It is important for the people to have a peaceful life in Haiti," Santos Cruz said.
The U.S.-backed president has pledged to build up Haitian agriculture and make the country more self-sufficient.
But food prices have risen 40 percent globally since mid-2007.
Haiti, the poorest country in the northern hemisphere, has been hit especially hard because it imports nearly all of its food, and most people live on less than two U.S. dollars a day.
Haiti's food problems are, sadly, not isolated to the Caribbean nation.
A Growing Worldwide Problem
There have been riots in Bangladesh, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mozambique and Senegal. Rising prices have hit poor countries like Peru (and even developed countries like Italy and the United States).
A confluence of problems are driving the problem. They include soaring petroleum prices, which increase the cost of fertilizers, transport and food processing; rising demand for meat and dairy in China and India, resulting in increased costs for grain, used for cattle feed; and the ever-rising demand for raw materials to make biofuels.
As of December, 37 countries faced food crises, and 20 had imposed some sort of food-price controls. The U.N.'s World Food Program says it's facing a $500 million shortfall in funding this year to feed 89 million needy people.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned that prices could continue to rise for several years.
"This is not a this-year phenomenon," Zoellick said.
The World Food Program blames soaring food prices on a convergence of rising energy costs, natural disasters linked to climate change, and competition for grain used to make bio-fuels like ethanol.
Program spokesperson Benita Luescher told CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller, "What we're seeing is a perfect storm."
On Friday, the Group of 24 Developing Countries urged advanced nations to step up financial aid to help them deal with the severe impact of higher food and energy prices and the turmoil in global financial markets.
The G-24 said that coordinated international action is needed to prevent the emergence of a larger crisis, and agreed the International Monetary Fund has an important role in responding to the current crisis. They also urged the IMF's sister institution, the World Bank, to increase advice and financial support.
Jean-Claude Masangu-Mulongo, chairman of the G-24 and governor of Congo's central bank, said the world was facing "an unprecedented financial crisis that began ... in the heart of the system, the United States, and is spreading."
He said a coordinated and collective international response led by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund is needed.
The G-24 communique was unusual in the amount of advice it offered advanced countries. Usually the communiques speak of how the G-24 will deal with recommendations it receives from the rich countries and the international financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank. Ministers in several developing countries have noted smugly in recent months that the current crisis did not originate in one of their countries, as happened in the late 1990s, but in the United States, which enjoys the world's largest economy.
The G-24 welcomed a proposal made last month by the World Bank's Zoellick for a "New Deal for a Global Food Policy" to combat hunger and malnutrition through a combination of emergency aid and long-term efforts to boost agricultural productivity.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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What percentage has the population grown during that same period?
We can barely afford to feed ourselves under the Bush administration. We cannot be expected to feed the rest of the world.
lollll...not that it matters to them - it never was about doing the right thing by America''s or the world''s peoples....it was and is just about profit.
We also give US cotton growers billions of our tax dollars to grow a crop they CANT grow profitably. In California, they live in one of the richest counties in the country as a result.
Add the fiction called corn ethanol, and thats why food prices are so high.
Don''t knock it. Hundreds of millions of dollars to the right causes.
Your solution no doubt is like bgwinnetts, genocide.
I don''t see this as a problem the US has to be involved with either. It might sound cold, but survival of the fittest is the rule of the jungle.
Posted by ubrew12 at 02:42 PM : Apr 12, 2008
Not my solution, just calling what''s gonna happen, we will all be effected by eugenics any way not just the Third World.
1) CANCEL YOUR CABLE / SATTELITE TV: let the corporate media moguls (and their advertisers) know that you will no longer pay for their propaganda (and useless products).
2) DIVEST FROM WALL ("WAR") STREET : the banking ELITE are systematically selling out the middle class to the lowest global bidder yet they still demand the average taxpayer to bail them out when times are tough.. start your own HEDGE FUND and invest in land, GOLD and SILVER.
3) START YOUR OWN BANK - buy a fire safe and fill it w/ cash/coin/metals etc.. don%u2019t empower the banking ELITE to do funny things with YOUR MONEY.
4) SUPPORT & DEVELOP LOCAL ECONOMIES !
- support local ORGANIC growers or GROW some of your own FOOD;
- implement ALTERNATIVE ENERGY sources (wood, solar, hybrid autos etc ..)
- develop LOCAL means of commerce not based on fraudulent Federal Reserve Notes.
5) AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE BEGINS WITH YOU - healthy eating habits and exercise will create less demand on the system meaning lower costs. You%u2019ll have plenty of time to work out once you UNPLUG THE TV DRUG.
6) STOP UNNECESSARY CONSUMPTION & STOP USING YOUR CREDIT CARD !
7) DECENTRALIZE ! - the global economy is nothing more than a ploy to centralize power, control and wealth into the hands of an elite few - blinded by misinformation, the American people are buying right into it - the rich get richer and the middle class is quickly becoming the working poor.
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Posted by andrew_693 at 02:49 PM : Apr 12, 2008
-Jesus will be accused of Anti-Semitism. When he''ll see Zionism/Elitism/SavageCapitalism is just another flaw of Humanity going injust as it used to be in Romans''s time! Would you come back if you were to be tried for that and jailed?
+ report abuse
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I think jesus would say...BE ACCOUNTABLE AND RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS..you cant feed your ownself..dont have anymore babies..to think past your the typical liberal "I" priority..if your future is threatened, FIGHT so the future for your children would be bright..
these bleeding heart liberals had and is still trying to save africa following the "I" mindset since the 1970s..well how did we progress with that?? in deeper sh*t than ever??
Posted by andrew_693 at 02:54 PM : Apr 12, 2008,,,
The U.S. always attempts to feed the poor, always! But as we all know the U.S. is not allowed to enter many of these nations and hand out food, the U.S. has to give the food it donates to a nations government and those governments steal the food, feed their armies instead and the poor continue to suffer! So in many cases because of corruption the U.S. doesn''t deliver any food at all because the food never reaches its intended destination!
Posted by ms38654ob
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Ah, but would you act, cheat, lie, steal... kill?... to feign fitness?
Indeed, define "fit".
Look outside your window; is it a bunch of trees and monkeys? Then it''s not a jungle.
We''re humanity, we''re supposed to be better than a bunch of animals.
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Posted by tbweb at 03:00 PM : Apr 12, 2008
-Most regimes planted and supported by USA... don''t deny it. That is the preferred way of opening markets of consumers nd getting their resources in order to transform them and resell them at a higher (read unaffordable) price... That is the IMF policy.
Oh, wait a minute,.....they''''re Hindus and Muslims,....
Sorry about your luck, people,....you''''re gonna'''' die!!!
You chose the wrong country to be born in, idiots!!!
Posted by singinrich
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Or have no religion, which could (or not) be why they can introduce poor or deadly products into the world''s market and get away with it; when their ally Russia started whining over the same slop everyone else has been getting, that should have been conclusive proof there are serious problems.
Whether or not there''s some "conspiracy theory" or not is another argument; especially when those that claim it don''t bother to cite any facts. And whatever our fate is; that''s what it is.
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Posted by RingADing3 at 03:09 PM : Apr 12, 2008
-You put your finger on the right button here. Actualy all efforts made in order to convert Food into bio-diesel are doomed. matter of fact: the engines are gonna compete against humans for the food resources. And humans are gonna win, obviously...
-Politicians should plan and manage what cannot be depleted in organic form; renewable energy resource, equivalent to the quantity of minimal sun lighting energy, daily. Use the Carbon masses released in the air from combustion engines and return it as a reserve at Humans'' reach under the shape of liquid gas or bio-fuel. This very technology should be developed, and made available to Humans in order to transform the Sun''s energy into a sizable, consumable energy.
Posted by singinrich...what goes around comes around watch your head........
They don''t make good slaves and they''re pretty much useless from the judgment of the Ruling Elite.
Extermination by waterborne viruses will be quick and efficient, leaving plenty of raw material for fertilizer and animal food.
So long, morons.
We''re humanity, we''re supposed to be better than a bunch of animals.
Posted by hypnotoad72
Do animals slaughter each other for the benefit of a few in power? I think not. No, we are not better than animals, we are worse.
As for the definition of "fit" in this case: Those who can obtain enough food to survive do, those that can''t don''t. It''s quite simple.
Oh, wait a minute,.....they''''''''re Hindus and Muslims,....
Sorry about your luck, people,....you''''''''re gonna'''''''' die!!!
You chose the wrong country to be born in, idiots!!!
Posted by singinrich
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Judgmental hypocrite!
I can see Russia and China (rivals) necessity for an Alliance. The food and financial calamity will force war upon the U.S. to maintain power and wealth. Won''t be too long now . . . say about 2012 is the climax.
P.S. Hey stupid Bush, they will make their move when they have their technology updated to destroy your spacestation arsenal.
I can see Russia and China (rivals) necessity for an Alliance. The food and financial calamity will force war upon the U.S. to maintain power and wealth. Won''''t be too long now . . . say about 2012 is the climax.
P.S. Hey stupid Bush, they will make their move when they have their technology updated to destroy your spacestation arsenal.
Posted by mcv57
... with many unemployed engineers and IT professionals soon to be out of work. They will soon are own technology and development against us stupid Bush.
I can see Russia and China (rivals) necessity for an Alliance. The food and financial calamity will force war upon the U.S. to maintain power and wealth. Won''''''''t be too long now . . . say about 2012 is the climax.
P.S. Hey stupid Bush, they will make their move when they have their technology updated to destroy your spacestation arsenal.
Posted by mcv57
... with many unemployed engineers and IT professionals soon to be out of work. They will soon use our own technology and development against us stupid Bush.
I can almost swear this grapy post comment does this on purpose - omit words, change wording.
It''''s called satire......
singingrick is dead, long live singinrich, his evil twin athiest brother....
Posted by singinrich at 05:41 PM : Apr 12, 2008
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Oh so sorry---you look so much alike, I get you both confused! lol
How soon will the riots over food happen in America? When milk reaches $6 a gallon?
At least someone benefits as the poor get poorer: the rich get richer. Cut their taxes even more and maybe this time some will trickle down.
Posted by ontheleft
Did you know this "trickle down" economic philosophy was not Reagan''s nor his administration. Its was Hoover''s idealogy! That is why Pres. Hoover never release his NEW DEAL plan - Pres. Roosvelt stole it.
Hoover lost the second term because of the Republican idealogy.
Due to the ignorance of the masses in America during the Reagan Administration, the Trickle Down was nothing more than Nazis Economics were the rich got richer; and government spending was billed on the backs of the U.S. taxpayer. Hilter sieze other countries to pay for his government debt.
hey U.S.A.,Your the strongest,most developed,most advanced country on this globe. You have every right to lead this world into the future. But do it for the right reasons or we''re all doomed. HEY AMERICAN, ARE YOU LISTENING.
We can live without oil. Although it is critical to the world in it''s own way, it is not critical for survival. Water is that critical. Take oil away and you have hardship. Take water away and you have death.
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