Red Cross warns of food riots over soaring prices

[KamaAina]

First it was "food insecurity". Now, get ready for "food-related violence". :scared:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080527/ap_on_re_eu/red_cross_food_violence

The Red Cross warned Tuesday of a possible surge in "food-related violence" because of soaring prices that are increasing hunger around the world.

Most of the debate surrounding the global food crisis has focused on boosting aid to poorer countries, but there is also concern about the potential for violence as people become desperate for food, said Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Kellenberger, whose agency serves as the guardian of the Geneva Conventions on the rules of war, said fallout from rising prices has already sparked violence, alluding to food riots that erupted in Haiti, Egypt and Somalia....

Kellenberger stressed that his concern about food violence was mainly about the "future risk," but he declined to say which parts of the world he considered possible trouble spots.

[Selatius]

1. I think somebody is jacking up food prices on purpose. Perhaps speculators are to blame.

A lot of hedge fund managers got their asses burned to crispy critters in real estate, so they started going into other markets to make up for their losses to their clients, and the bidding on food delivery contracts would seem to go up as a result of increased speculation.

[nichomachus]

2. Speculators? What are speculators?

I'm serious. Can you name one speculator? This is the term that is used to keep us from holding the real people accountable. They just blame "speculators." But, of course, no one will identify themselves as a "speculator."

It's the same as blaming "Congress." Everyone hates "Congress," but the same members of Congress keep getting elected year after year.

[Hydra]

3. Really...

I wonder if that's why the military have those crowd control microwave guns? They wouldn't have planned this all out, would they?

Nah, that would be tinfoil thinking...:sarcasm: