Rome Food Conference

progressive

(Thu, 5 Jun 2008 01:41:47 -0500 (CDT)) --- Institute for Public Accuracy 915 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045
(202) 347-0020 *

www.accuracy.org

ipa@accuracy.org
___________________________________________________

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Rome Food Conference

As government leaders from around the world meet at the U.N. food
conference in Rome, nonprofit organizations have also been meeting
there. The following analysts are available for a limited number of
interviews and are in contact with others in Rome from around the world:

FLAVIO VALENTE, valente@fian.org,

www.fian.org

www.foodsovereignty.org

Secretary general of FIAN [Food First Information and Action
Network], an international food rights group, Valente said: "I see very
little good coming from the governmental meeting in Rome. The World Bank
and International Monetary Fund are being turned to as if they will help
solve the problem, but it was largely their policies of structural
adjustment that made poor countries lose their capacity to control their
food policies and helped bring on the current crisis. The U.S.
government -- and to some extent the European Union -- are blocking
desperately needed advances; for example any reference in the final
documents to people having a right to food."

RACHEL SMOLKER, rsmolker@globaljusticeecology.org,

www.globaljusticeecology.org

also via Orin Langelle, orin.langelle@globalforestcoalition.org
Research biologist at the Global Justice Ecology Project, Smolker
said today: "Unfortunately this crisis is being used as an opportunity
to advance GMOs [genetically modified organisms]. The question of land
is emerging as a central issue and business interests are grabbing it up
for biofuels and other purposes. Millions of people were added to the
ranks of the hungry in the last quarter. Meanwhile, the big agribusiness
companies are making huge profits."
Smolker recently wrote the piece "Agrofuels in the belly of the
hungry beast," at: <

www.egovmonitor.com

>.
She also wrote "Go Ahead, Blame Biofuels: A switch from fossil fuels
to ethanol and its kin diverts resources from food production, leading
to hunger and destabilization of farming" published in Business Week,
at:
<

www.businessweek.com

>.

For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

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