G8 Leaders Chew on Global Food Crisis Over Caviar

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 dessert" for those who still had room after the dinner feast and the six-course working lunch.

The 60 chefs flown in to prepare the leaders' meals and the almost $600 million being spent on the summit has drawn bitter criticism. "If they are just going to sit around and eat, while millions of people face starvation, that is not good enough," grumbled an officer for the charity Oxfam. "They must act—not eat." (More Group of Eight stories.)