The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated today that "the problem of the current worldwide food crisis, due to the dazzling price rise, must be urgently tackled". Speaking at the Vienna Forum, Ban Ki-moon noticed that the food crisis has affected the poorest countries and reduced 100 million people to a state of further poverty, hindering the achievement of the Eight Millennium Objectives. "This is a world-scale challenge that must be jointly tackled", commented Ban. However, according to Jean Ziegler, UN Special Reporter on the Right to Food, the United States and the European Union are responsible for the rise in the prices of foodstuffs as they use their crops to produce bio-fuels. That’s why he asked for a 5-year moratorium on the production of fuels. Ziegler added that the speculations on the world markets are accountable for 30% of the rise in the prices of foodstuffs. In addition, according to Ziegler, these speculative funds are making high profits from raw materials. So new financial regulations must be enforced to stop such speculations. Ziegler said he is worried about the riots due to the food crisis and that he is aware that the number of people starved to death might become awfully higher before we can see the effects of proper reforms.” ” ” “
