Political courage needed to solve world hunger

Posted by Owen Roberts | Nov 16, 2009 | Guelph Mercury

World hunger is bringing together leaders in Rome this week for a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization food security summit. Director general Jacques Diouf calls world hunger “ the kind thatâ€™s now killing a child every six seconds in an underdeveloped country “ â€œa moral outrage, an economic absurdity andâ€¦a serious threat to our collective peace and security.â€

Where can we start to address this issue? How about with plants? That’s the topic of my Urban Cowboy column this week in the Guelph Mercury.

Diouf orchestrated a one-day hunger strike as a prelude to the summit. FAO photographer Giulio Napolitano captured the image of Diouf at the strike, below.

About The Author

Owen Roberts

Urban Cowboy

Raising awareness and promoting dialogue about current food and agriculture issues.

OWEN ROBERTS

Owen Roberts is a faculty member in the Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications program at the University of Illinois. As an agricultural journalist, he is the past president of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists and a lifetime achievement award recipient from the Canadian Farm Writers' Federation. His programs and research papers have been recognized nationally and internationally through awards from the Journal of Applied Communications, the National Agri-Marketing Association, the Association for Communications Excellence, and others.