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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080409.wfood09/BNStory/International/home

BARBARA SURK

The Associated Press

April 9, 2008 at 4:13 AM EDT

DUBAI - The recent outbreak of food riots is a warning sign that rising food prices could cause
unrest and instability across the world, the UN's top humanitarian official said yesterday.

Combined with the negative impact of climate change[1] and soaring fuel prices[Peak Oil?], a
"perfect storm" is brewing for much of the world's population, said John Holmes, the United Nations
undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief co-ordinator.

"The security implications [of the food crisis] should also not be underestimated as food riots are
already being reported across the globe," Mr. Holmes told a conference in Dubai, addressing
challenges facing humanitarian work.

His comments were made after two days of rioting in Egypt, where the prices for many staples have
doubled in the past year. And violent food protests were continuing for a second day in the capital
of Haiti.

"Current food price trends are likely to increase sharply both the incidence and depth of food
insecurity," Mr. Holmes said, noting a 40-per-cent average rise in prices worldwide since the middle
of last year.

Mr. Holmes said that the biggest challenge to humanitarian work is the effects of climate change and
the resulting "extreme weather" that has doubled the number of recorded disasters from an average of
200 a year to 400 a year in the past two decades.

Adding food scarcity and expensive fuel to the mix have made for a very volatile situation, he said.

"Compounding the challenges of climate change in what some have labelled the perfect storm are the
recent dramatic trends in soaring food and fuel prices," he said.

One of the factors pushing food prices higher and sparking protests all over the world is more
expensive diesel fuel, which is used to transport most of the world's food.

[1] http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Grim_harvest_for_Australian_farmers_999.html
"As the worst drought in a century grips much of the country, the nation's 130,000 farmers
are bearing the brunt of the impact as their hopes for an income again die as their crops fail."

"It's been very difficult the last few years, there's no two ways about it," he said.
"I've never seen two years like this in a row."


Jan Rasmussen