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. The FAO Food Price Index continued to increase since the start of the year and by March 2008 it averaged 220, as much as 80 points (57 percent) more than in March 2007. Prices of nearly all food commodities have risen since the beginning of the year supported by a persistent, tight supply and demand situation. In 2007, the index averaged 157, up 23 percent from 2006. |