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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: food shortage

food shortage stories: 21 news summaries

1 - 20 of 21 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Desperate Hunger 
 Plagues N. Korea, 
 Forces Change  

Rampant malnutrition fuels capitalist markets

Mar 6, 09 8:10 AM CST
(Newser) - North Korea has, in its words, an “eating problem”: unable to feed its residents, it has become the world’s first nuclear-armed “beggar,” the Washington Post reports. Malnutrition has led to a spate of mental and physical disabilities—a quarter of potential troops will be disqualified because... More »

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North Korea • hunger • capitalism • Kim Jong Il • food shortage • malnutrition

 

 Mugabe Thugs Collect 
 for Presidential Pig-Out 

Starving country's ruling party gets tough to tackle champagne, caviar shortage

Feb 10, 09 3:00 AM CST
(Newser) - Aggressive supporters of Zimbabwe's ruling party have been pressing the country's farmers and businesses for "donations" to fund Robert Mugabe's ultra-luxe 85th birthday bash, the Times of London reports. A wish list supplied to the Times includes 8,000 bottles of champagne, 8,000 lobsters, and 4,000 portions... More »

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Africa • Zimbabwe • Robert Mugabe • food shortage • Zanu-PF

COMMENTARY

 Gazans Hunker Down 
 in 'Worst' Time of All 

Refugees arrive in city with horror stories

Jan 6, 09 1:00 PM CST
(Newser) - Lentils and bread nearly are all Safwat al-Kahlout can offer the 20 relatives holed up in his powerless Gaza City apartment, he writes in the Christian Science Monitor. As Israeli tanks roll through the city's outskirts, family members have fled inward to his flat. "I took my clothes and... More »

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Gaza • Palestine • Hamas • Gaza City • food shortage • Arab Israeli conflict • rations

(Newser) - Rich nations are buying up farmland in developing countries and drawing the ire of some critics, the Guardian reports. One UN official said the purchases, designed as a hedge against food shortages, could put poor nations at risk of starving to feed the wealthy. In "this scramble for soil... More »

MORE ABOUT:
food • Africa • globalization • farmland • Third World • food shortage • food security

Haitians Turn to Mud Cakes to Fill Empty Bellies

Food price hikes push everything but dirt out of reach for Haiti's poor

Jul 29, 08 6:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - Impoverished Haitians have been reduced to living off mud cakes, the Guardian reports. The cakes of clay and water—long eaten by poor pregnant women seeking calcium—are increasingly the only food many families can afford. The global fuel and food crisis has hit Haiti, and half the population is... More »

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hunger • Haiti • starvation • Caribbean • food shortage • malnutrition • food supply

G8 Leaders Chew on Global Food Crisis
Over Caviar

Luxe meals by 60 chefs follow starvation talks

Jul 8, 08 5:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - The global food crisis tops the agenda at this year's G8 summit—and the talks seem to be hungry work, reports the Independent. The 18 dishes at the eight-course luxury dinner served to the leaders last night included caviar, sea urchin, and Kyoto beef—followed by a "G8 fantasy... More »

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Japan • G8 summit • Group of Eight • summit • food shortage

Export Bans Push Food Costs Even Higher

29 nations move to keep more food at home

Jun 30, 08 7:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - Alarmed by high food prices and shortages worldwide, some 29 countries are banning or reducing exports of foods to make sure they have enough at home. Such limitations pose a threat to countries that rely on imports, forcing prices up further, the New York Times reports. What’s more, the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
food scare • exports • rice • food prices • food shortage • World Trade Organization.

Poor Crops Threaten to Worsen Food Crisis

Bad weather in US, Australia threatens harvests amid shortages

Jun 10, 08 7:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - Amid fears of looming food shortages around the world, this year’s crops aren’t providing much hope, the New York Times reports. While farmers in America have been hit with too much rain, Australian farmers are battling the effects of drought. US farmers planted 4 million more acres this... More »

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weather • drought • crops • harvest • farmer • food shortage

Food vs. Fuel Battle
Flares at UN Summit

Egypt's Mubarak asks, should we be feeding people or cars?

Jun 4, 08 10:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - The battle over biofuels is raging at the UN’s food summit in Rome, with nations bitterly divided over whether growing corn and sugar cane for ethanol production is pushing food prices up and helping create disastrous global food shortages. On one side: Food experts who call diversion of crops... More »

MORE ABOUT:
United Nations • ethanol • biofuel • food prices • food shortage • food aid • food production • Jacques Diouf

Leaders Rip Mugabe's 'Obscene' Trip to Food Talks

President accused of presiding over  starvation of his nation

Jun 3, 08 3:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - British and Australian ministers have blasted Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's attendance at a world food summit in Rome, charging him with turning his nation from the breadbasket of Africa into a country plagued by food shortages, reports the BBC. They also criticized him for using food aid given to ZImbabwe... More »

MORE ABOUT:
United Nations • Zimbabwe • Robert Mugabe • food shortage • food aid • World Food Program

 World Bank
 Offers $1.2B
 in Food Aid 

Millions at risk of starvation

May 30, 08 6:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - The World Bank is offering an emergency $1.2 billion in aid to several nations in a desperate bid to stave off starvation for millions of people, reports the BBC. The money is being offered to Haiti, Liberia, Djibouti, Togo, Yemen and other nations identified as at immediate risk from... More »

MORE ABOUT:
United Nations • World Bank • Robert Zoellick • food prices • food shortage • Togo • Tajikistan • world food summit

OPINION

 Make Dams and Food,
 Not War and Ethanol 

A dollar of prevention is worth many times that in cure, researcher pleads

May 22, 08 4:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ethanol is among the "poor solutions to high-profile problems" researcher Bjorn Lomborg blasts in the Wall Street Journal. According to calculations by his Copenhagen Consensus, “carbon mitigation policies” return only 90 cents for every dollar spent; in contrast, he writes, $1 billion spent on tuberculosis would result in... More »

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philanthropy • civil war • food shortage • environmental impact • Iraq war • Iraq war spending • carbon emissions • international aid

As World's Belly Rumbles, Gluttonous US Tosses Food 

27% of available food ends up in the trash

May 18, 08 11:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - Americans throw out roughly a quarter of all food available for consumption, even as grocery prices skyrocket and global riots break out over food shortages, the New York Times reports. That works out to about a pound of food every day for every American—from grocery stories tossing spoiled produce... More »

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food • landfill • waste • donation • food prices • food shortage

 'Big Dry' Killing Aussie Farms 

Wheat exports critically low as farmers flee parched land

May 2, 08 8:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - The worst drought in a century has forced a tenth of Australian farmers off the land, reports the BBC. The "Big Dry" has led to parched farmland across the nation over the last seven years, accelerating the exodus from rural areas. The number of farming families in Australia has... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Australia • farming • drought • wheat • farmer • farm • food shortage

 Bush: $770M 
 Needed For Food Aid 

Congress must approve money, part of a larger Iraq funding measure

May 1, 08 3:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - Amid rising food prices and overtaxed international reserves, President Bush proposed a new $770 million aid package today, Reuters reports. The money is part of a supplemental $70 billion measure that also includes Iraq war funding and would require a vote in Congress. More »

MORE ABOUT:
Congress • press conference • food prices • food shortage • food supply • food aid • George W. Bush

Humble Spud Could Solve Food Crisis

International
'Year of the Potato' to highlight tuber's virtues

Apr 15, 08 2:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sharp hikes in the prices of staples like wheat and rice are sending shockwaves around the world and convincing governments to rediscover the virtues of the potato, Reuters reports. Spuds are nutritious, will grow just about anywhere, and they yield up to four times more food per acre than other... More »

MORE ABOUT:
food • farming • Peru • crops • food prices • food shortage • food supply • potato

US Slump,
Oil Trouble Could Rock World: Report

Key factors threaten
in coming months

Jan 9, 08 8:48 PM CST
(Newser) - The world economy may be in for some shocks this year because of a potential US recession, record-setting oil prices and food shortages, warns a report by the World Economic Forum. Worries about terrorism, disease, and natural disasters have taken a back seat to world business leaders' concerns about an... More »

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oil • recession • food shortage

Odinga Rejects Unity Rule; Kenya Health Crisis Looms

Aid chiefs sound alarm in wake of chaos

Jan 6, 08 8:32 AM CST
(Newser) - Opposition leader Raila Odinga today rejected President Mwai Kibaki's offer of a unity government and demanded an international mediator, AP reports. "We want a properly negotiated settlement, not a coalition government," Odinga said, warning that his party would stage more rallies, threatening a new burst of violence after... More »

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Kenya • United Nations • crisis • political factions • food shortage • water shortage • ethnic conflict • Mwai Kibaki • Raila Odinga

Afghans Facing Food Crisis

Minister pleads for wheat from international community

Jan 6, 08 5:28 AM CST
(Newser) - Afghanistan is facing a critical food shortage and is appealing to the world to send extra wheat, the BBC reports. "The situation is serious," warned the nation's commerce minister. Afghanistan relies on food imports, and the rising price of grain on world markets is triggering a national hardship.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Afghanistan • opium • wheat prices • food shortage • Helmand province

Aid Finally Reaches Bengalis

After six days, relief starts flowing to victims of Cyclone Sidr

Nov 21, 07 5:54 PM CST
(Newser) - Bangladesh’s army has finally reached most parts of the southern coastline devastated by Cyclone Sidr six days ago, delivering small amounts of aid to most affected areas, the AFP reports. With relief efforts thus far stymied by the devastation, any aid was welcomed: "We spent the last six... More »

MORE ABOUT:
World Bank • cyclone • Bangladesh • food shortage • Cyclone Sidr

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