PM writes to G8 urging action on food scarcity

Gordon Brown raised fresh concerns about the impact of biofuels yesterday, as he put rising food prices on the world agenda by writing to fellow G8 leaders to prepare an international package on food scarcity.

He wants the issue to be on the agenda of the G8 summit in Japan in July, and said he had concerns about the way in which the rush towards environmentally questionable biofuels might displace much-needed food production.
He is also likely to discuss the issue with US leaders when he meets them in Washington and New York next week. He wants the IMF and World Bank to engage on the issue this year. The US has taken a more enthusiastic approach to biofuels as a way of tackling climate change.

In a letter to the Japanese prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, setting out a plan to address the food crisis, Brown wrote: “There is a growing consensus that we need urgently to examine the impact on food prices of different kinds and production methods of biofuels, and ensure that their use is responsible and sustainable.”

Guardian