Risk for starvation, violence ‘immense’

As world leaders continue wrestling over what to do about the spiraling global food crisis, the former U.S. ambassador for humanitarian issues says he worries that Americans "have not yet developed the political and spiritual will" to adequately tackle the situation.

"I think the ethical issue is, as a country and as an individual, are we our brother’s keeper? And I think the answer is yes," former Ambassador Tony Hall told the Public Broadcasting Service television program "Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly."

Hall, an evangelical Presbyterian, said he is frustrated by what he sees as a lack of moral outrage about the current crisis, particularly within many segments of the religious community. "There’s over 2,500 verses in the Bible that deal with the issue of helping the poor, the sick, the hungry," he said, adding that the potential for mass starvation and an upsurge in food-related violence around the world is "immense."

"I think you are going to start to see in the next four or five months horrendous stories, more riots. It’s a major, major problem."

According to the United Nations, 850 million people around the world are already near starvation. Rising costs of oil, seeds, fertilizer and transportation, combined with extreme weather and poor harvests, have sent food prices soaring.

Rising food prices in the U.S. have also triggered new concerns about domestic hunger. Hall acknowledged the problem but said that should not override responsibilities abroad. Right now only about 5 percent of the U.S. humanitarian budget goes overseas. (RNS)