UN aid chief worried by sky-rocketing food prices, weather

UN aid chief worried by sky-rocketing food prices, weather

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Rising food prices and extreme weather are sparking more humanitarian disasters around the world, the United Nations' top official for emergency relief warned on Tuesday.

Fourteen out of 15 U.N. "flash appeals" for help last year were a response to devastation caused by droughts, floods and hurricanes, U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said.

"That is five more than in any other year," Holmes said during a visit to European Union headquarters in Brussels.

"We are seeing them (disasters) increase in intensity and number," he told a news conference, saying weather events could not always be directly linked with climate change.

Holmes cited growing demand for food in China and India, a shift towards more meat-oriented diets and the use of foodstuffs in biofuels as driving what he called a structural change in food prices that put some staples beyond the reach of the poor.

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I have to say, I would agree with him-and not even solely in foreign regions. I think we are starting to see the costs of food spiking up here at an alarming rate, and many of the people living in poverty are having a harder time buying the necessities they used to. Add in Hurricanes, tornado's...We are on the brink of something tragic if things don't change.

We need to get more people world wide involved in farming. Populations are outpacing food productions.

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its only gonna worse and worse,to many people being born who all want to live like kings and queens!,to much land being wasted on golf courses,property developments,and worst of all,lettuce!!,thats right lettuce it has 0 nutritional or calorific value whatsover!,its evil!.

the average affluent citizen throws away at least a third of their food!.

and did you know the majority of grain production in usa goes towards feeding cows???,whats wrong with good ol grass!?,what a catastophe!

and to top it of,almost all the soya producation that is destroying the amazon is sent to china to feed pigs!!!,its all madness!

and dont even get me started on the whole global catostrophic climate change thats going to flood the flood plains thus crop production areas of the world!!!.

The rise in the cost of food is mostly a result of increased production of automotive ethanol.