Clinton calls for immediate action on global food shortage, food price spikes

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at a meeting of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome said that without immediate action, food shortages and volatile prices could spark global destabilization, the Associated Press reports.

Urgent steps are needed to limit the rise of food costs and boost agricultural production, she said. "Although the situation is not yet as dire as it was four years ago, she said the consequences of inaction would be 'grave,'" the AP writes. "We must act now, effectively and cooperatively, to blunt the negative impact of rising food prices and protect people and communities," Clinton said (5/6).

Global Food Prices Held Steady In April, FAO Index Says

Global food prices remained almost steady in April, FAO's Food Price Index revealed on Thursday, Agence France-Presse reports (5/6).

The index, "which tracks a basket of commodity prices, averaged 232 points last month, little changed from March but still 36% higher than the same time the year before. The index hit 236 points in February, the record high in real and nominal terms since the FAO started monitoring prices in 1990," the Wall Street Journal writes (Henshaw, 5/6).