UN warns over food aid rationing

UN warns over food aid rationing
The director of the UN's World Food Programme has said it is considering plans to ration food aid because of rising prices and a shortage of funds. Josette Sheeran told the BBC that the WFP needed increased contributions from donors to make sure it could meet the needs of those who already rely on it. She said it also faced growing demands from countries like Afghanistan, where people were now unable to afford food. Food prices rose 40% last year because of rising demand and other factors. Earlier this month, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said the rising price of cereals such as wheat and maize had become a "major global concern". The FAO estimated poor countries would see their cereal import bill rise by more than a third this year. Africa as a whole is expected to see a 49% increase.

One of the canary’s in the coal mine for global warming is the sudden increase in food prices as erratic weather conditions destroy crop yields, as global warming gets worse, more crops will be destroyed, food prices will jump again this year making the poor and hungry even more desperate. We aren’t reaping what we’ve sowed yet, the third world is reaping the environmental consequences of our consumer greed, we’re insulated and further down the line, but when that hurricane comes, what will we plead?