In a startling bit of news, surely representing the disparity between rich and poor, overweight people now outnumber the hungry globally.
Asia-Pacific director Jagan Chapagain called it a “double-edged scandal” at a press conference in the Indian capital, adding that “excess nutrition now kills more than hunger.”
The problem of hunger existed not because there was a lack of food globally, he stressed, but because of poor distribution, wastage and rising prices that made food unaffordable.
Food prices have spiked globally in 2011, raising fears of a re-run of the crisis seen in 2008 which led to riots and political instability in many countries.
The rise in food prices, which the IFRC blamed on speculative commodity trading and climate change, among other factors, is seen as having contributed to the unrest witnessed in north Africa and the Middle East this year.
Dan Gardner wonders about the good in this news. I haven’t yet figured out what that may be.
