A striking piece in the New York Times today about the hunger crisis in Haiti and across the globe:

“Haiti’s hunger, that burn in the belly that so many here feel, has become fiercer than ever in recent days as global food prices spiral out of reach, spiking as much as 45 percent since the end of 2006 and turning Haitian staples like beans, corn and rice into closely guarded treasures. Saint Louis Meriska’s children ate two spoonfuls of rice apiece as their only meal recently and then went without any food the following day. His eyes downcast, his own stomach empty, the unemployed father said forlornly, “They look at me and say, ‘Papa, I’m hungry,’ and I have to look away. It’s humiliating and it makes you angry.” That anger is palpable across the globe. The food crisis is not only being felt among the poor but is also eroding the gains of the working and middle classes, sowing volatile levels of discontent and putting new pressures on fragile governments.”

The shocking headlines have had our attention all week. The price of basic food staples have increased 45% in just the last nine months - and they’ve doubled in the last three years. As we all must know - these rising prices deal a crushing blow to the world’s poorest people - people who already spend more than half of their income on food. This weekend, World Bank President Zoellick said that this hunger crisis could “push 100 million people in low-income countries deeper into poverty” and that the effects would be equivalent of “seven lost years in the fight against worldwide poverty.” The shortage is fueling social unrest in some of the most fragile nations around the globe. Haiti, Egypt, Niger, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mozambique, Bolivia and Uzbekistan discontent has already erupted. “For countries where food comprises from half to three-quarters of consumption, there is no margin for survival.”(Zoellick) We have to do something. Please sign our petition to President Bush urging world leaders to take action.

Everyone here at ONE is watching and deeply concerned about impact of rising food prices on the poorest people around the globe - people who already spend more than half of their income on food. We just put up a new page, at ONE.org/worldfoodcrisis to highlight what is happening, make some statements and to keep track of the latest news.

For those who haven’t been following - Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization announced on Wednesday that the cost of the most basic food staples - rice, wheat and corn - have risen 45% in just the last 9 months. The cost of these staples have now increased 80% since 2005.

From the page:

“To address the current crisis and prevent long-term damage to development progress, the international community needs to address the problem of rising food prices and renew global efforts to combat hunger, malnutrition and agricultural development. In the short-term, quick action should be taken to increase emergency aid to food-importing developing nations and provide the $500 million needed by the World Food Program to meet immediate food needs…In the longer term, the donor community must work with developing nations to develop a comprehensive response to combating hunger and promoting broad-based agricultural development.”