750m 'starving for biofuel push'
Metro, Friday July 4, 2008
by JO STEELE - Friday, July 4, 2008Rising food prices have put an extra 750million people at risk of chronic hunger across the world.
And that global food crisis is being fuelled by the policies of G8 leaders, said charity ActionAid.
Britain and US biofuel targets, which include £9billion per year subsidies to farmers, mean grain and vegetable oil are being diverted to biofuels rather than food, leading to scarcity and rocketing prices.
In its report, Cereal Offenders, ActionAid said agricultural aid to farmers in developing countries has halved since 1980 to £2billion.
It said the 82 per cent rise in food prices since 2006 has put 750million people at risk of hunger on top of the 850million who already faced chronic hunger, and the 100million pushed into food poverty this year.
In Africa, yields from rain-fed agriculture could drop by as much as 50 per cent by 2020 because of rising temperatures, floods and drought. But the report also said world cereal production hit a new high in 2007 and would increase again in 2008.
Tom Sharman, ActionAid's policy officer said: 'A hunger-free world is only possible if rich governments help lay the foundations for developing countries to re-establish food security and guarantee the right to food for all.'
ActionAid wants G8 countries to remove biofuels subsidies and targets and increase aid to farmers in developing countries.
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