Leading Vatican diplomat laments soaring food prices, cites ethanol
August 16, 2012
The worst US drought in 50 years has helped contribute to a steep increase in grain prices since June, and one of the Vatican’s leading diplomats called upon the international community to take action on behalf of the world’s poor.
“We need to respect life and therefore make available for every person a minimum of food so that life may be possible,” said Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva.
“Water and food are a human right that needs to be respected, and therefore policies have to be developed to prevent the excessive use of agricultural products for biofuels, ethanol in particular, or the speculation in markets for exceptional profits at the expense of fair distribution of food.”
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Further information:
- Tomasi: International effort needed to prevent food crisis (Vatican Radio)
- UN urges US to cut ethanol production (Financial Times)
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Posted by: aclune9083 -
Aug. 19, 2012 11:16 PM ET USA
I wonder if the good Cardinal has notices that the US suffers a massive drought, the worst since the Great Depression in the heart of the corn-growing region, thus making this one of the poorest harvests on record. Combined with obama's refusal to allow the oil companies to explore known resources in the US, the blockage of the keystone pipeline (proceeds now going to China), and failure to influence OPEC to increase oil production and lower prices, it's not just the poor who will suffer.
