UN Chief Urges 50% Boost in Food Production

UN chief Ban Ki-Moon today called for a 50% rise in world food production by 2030 to fight starvation and civil unrest as the population grows. He spoke at the World Food Security conference in Rome, where world leaders are working to address the highest commodity prices in decades. Such high prices have prompted global riots. “The threats are obvious to us all,” Ban said.

"Beggar-thy-neighbor food policies cannot work,'' he added. "They only distort markets and force prices even higher.'' Farm aid has been declining for two decades, Bloomberg reports; last year, despite surging food prices, aid from donors such as the US, the European Union, Japan, Switzerland, and Canada dropped 8.4%. (More food prices stories.)