A BILLION NOW HUNGRY

Assembly President, citing a billion now hungry, urges ‘new politics of food’

6 April 2009 – Warning that one billion people worldwide are on the verge of starvation, the President of the United Nations General Assembly today called for “a new politics of food” emanating from the bottom up and based on the right to sustenance.
“We need to have an approach to food productihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifon that is multi-functional, that has a concern for the poor and their right to food, a concern for the earth and its right to life, a concern for communities and their right to self-governance,” Miguel D’Escoto said, as he opened a dialogue on the topic taking place in New York.
The discussion brought together economists, agro-ecologists, human rights specialists and other experts to discuss necessary changes in the world’s agricultural production from the perspective of the right to food, as the food crisis among the world’s poorest continues, Mr. D’Escoto said.
Every six seconds a child dies of malnutrition, according to a statement issued today by the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier de Schutter, who affirmed: “The global food crisis is far from being abated.”
Mr. de Schutter, who reports to the Human Rights Council in an independent, unpaid capacity, explained that the poor will inevitably be hit by more price volatility, climate-related events and the effects of the economic crisis.
He called for a redesign of food production and trade to ensure that it serves development, the right to food and the plight of agricultural workers.

Ted Zorns Painting, "Tropical Paradise"