Secretary Condoleezza Rice Blames Growing Indian, Chinese Appetite For Global Food Crisis - A JOKE !!!

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's comment that the "growing Indian and Chinese appetite is contributing to the global food crisis" has kicked up a controversy.

In an interactive session at the Peace Corps 2008 Country Directors Conference, Rice said the "improvement in the diets of people in India and China", which is forcing the governments there to keep food "inside" is a cause for the current global supply shortage.

The top Bush administration official said the ongoing food crisis was mainly due to "four causes."

1. Food Production seems to be declining and declining to the point that people are actually putting export caps on the amount of food.

2. Improvement in the diets of people, for instance, in China and India, and then pressures to keep food inside the country.

3. The "incredible cost" that fuel prices, everything from fertilizer to transportation costs, was bringing on the ability to distribute or to get food to people, was identified as another factor by Rice.

4. The fourth factor was the one relating to "biofuels", which was "not a large part of the problem, but it may, in fact, be a part of the problem," she added.

Indian Govt Reacted Strongly -

Indian Government has said the U.S. Secretary of State has made a wrong assessment of the whole problem. Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh Alhuwalia said, "I don't agree that there is a global food crisis because of India and China. There is an increase in food production too in both the countries."

"The increase in production and use of biofuels might be the cause why cultivable area is limited," he added.

However, the Left parties came down heavily on Rice for her comments. One of the senior politburo members condemned her statement as "bad, indecent and cruel."

"The whole presumption is that the developing world is suddenly eating more than they were and suddenly they are not suffering from malnultrition as they were," said the member.

Source