Surging food prices could push 100 million deeper into poverty, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Sunday at the close of the International Money Fund-World Bank spring meetings in Washington.
“Based on a very rough analysis, we estimate that a doubling of food prices over the last three years could potentially push 100 million people in low-income countries deeper into poverty,” Zoellick said at a press conference. “This is not just a question of short-term needs, as important as those are; this is ensuring that future generations don’t pay a price too.”
Zoellick called for a “New Deal for Global Food Policy” similar to a 1930s program under U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt to tackle problems related to the Great Depression.
The World Bank estimates that food prices have gone up by 83 percent globally over the last three years. Wheat prices have risen by 120 percent in the last year and in just the last two months, the price of rice has risen by 75 percent. The World Banks says increased food prices is not a temporary phenomenon but is likely to persist in the medium term.
Amazing. Sad. Time to give up ethanol and biofuel.
actually, its probably time to start walking.
It’s worth remembering that in an international context “poverty” often means destitution.