摘要：According to World Bank research, the current level of commodity prices, which are likely to be a medium- to long-term reality, will throw about 100 million human beings back into the ranks of the poor and hungry1. Food riots sparked by the doubling or tripling of prices of basic food staples gave us a glimpse of the perils associated with delaying concrete responses to tackle food insecurity. Heads of state, agricultural specialists, and presidents of international organizations met in Rome in June 2008 to tackle the problems created by the food crisis. The resulting document of that meeting included bold directives on the most immediate issue: humanitarian assistance for affected countries. However, the Declaration of the High Level Conference on World Food Security will not be enough to address the food crisis.2 On May 14 2008 , in a hearing in the US Congress devoted to the global food crisis, I identified a series of proposals that would make a difference in alleviating the plight of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.
