hunger

Often actions have unintended consequences. The Iraq war has driven up oil prices which has pushed the desire for alternative fuels such as ethanol produced from grain. These two trends are major contributors to the rapid rise in food prices around the world as the cost for transporting the food skyrockets and competition for the grain increases as more of it is converted into ethanol rather than used for food. I've read and heard that the amount of grain needed to produce enough ethanol to fill the tank of one American SUV is equal to the amount of grain eaten by one of those poorest people in a year! Yes, it takes a year's food to fill a tank once. In many areas of the world the price of rice, wheat, and corn has doubled in the past few weeks. For me it is an inconvenience. For the poor of the world, many of whom live on a dollar a day, it is a crisis.

This summer the G8 meets and they must include the alleviation of hunger as a priority for the next year. By clicking here you can sign the following petition

President Bush,

The soaring cost of staple foods and the resulting hunger crisis has caused riots from Haiti to Bangladesh, threatens hundreds of thousands of people with starvation and could push one hundred million more people deeper into poverty. Please build on your recent commitment by taking immediate action to:

1) Prioritize issues of global poverty, including the world hunger crisis on the agenda of the G8 Summit this July in Japan.

2) At the summit, secure commitments for additional resources for all types of food assistance and increased agricultural productivity in developing countries.

And visit Bread for the World to learn more about the growing hunger crisis.