Here they go again

Wadayono? The proverbial whipping boy is being blamed again for future food crisis. In today's Philippine Daily Inquirer, the United Nations World Food Programme:

... on Wednesday warned of hunger "spiraling out of control" as global population increases and as the effects of the global financial crisis start to be felt.

"We are at a critical juncture where we risk watching hunger spiral out of control as the world's population is set to climb toward nine billion mid-century," said WFP executive director Josette Sheeran, speaking from New Delhi during her first visit to India, the country with the single largest population of undernourished people in the world.

In a statement made available by the local WFP office, Sheeran asked rich countries to allocate $5.2 billion for the UN agency's 2009 program to feed almost 100 million of world's hungriest people, including 59 million children.

WFP's urgent call comes in the wake of historically high food prices earlier this year and continued market volatility. The global financial crisis, which is putting the developed world in recession, is spreading into the developing world as incomes go down, and trade, capital flows, and remittances slow.

How much are we spending for global warming mitigation? How much are we spending for a purported world climate crisis (that "experts" say is going to happen, so why spend for it?)? How much are we spending for research and possible production of alternative energy sources when making more efficient production and consumption of fossil fuels may be more effective? How much are lost to corruption that line the pockets of politicians for projects as varied as brideges-to-nowhere to pay-for-play US Senate seats?

How much are we contributing and spending for "reproductive health services" that eventually will kill more babies?

Then again, maybe we should spend more for these services so that eventually there are no more mouths to feed. BTW, how much more does an adult eat compared to a child?