Political Quotes

“I fear we are on the brink of a major humanitarian crisis around the world. Food prices are rising beyond the reach of people in countries as disparate and far apart as Haiti, Egypt, and Thailand. Food prices and their increase have led to demonstrations, sometimes even violent demonstrations in many parts of the world, creating real threats to the stability of those countries. As many as 33 countries face a growing risk of hunger and social unrest that is caused when people are hungry and frightened about their future. Quite simply, I am concerned that we are steps away from a world food crisis, a crisis that could have a dramatic impact on some of the world's poorest nations. The other week, World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned: For countries where food comprises about half to three-quarters of consumption, there is no margin for survival. In the United States, the poorest 20 percent, the poorest one-fifth of our population, spends about 16 percent of their income on food. It is a lot compared to many of us. But in the poorest nations, those families spend more than half of what they earn to feed themselves. In Nigeria, families spend an average of 73 percent of the money they earn on food; in Vietnam, 65 percent. Even as food prices soar, humanitarian aid has been forced to scale back.”