Ban Ki-moon is right, food is not a commodity. The UN chief has gone on record as saying that the food crisis poses a grave threat to global security. UN secretaries-general do not normally speak in such a forthright manner so when they do, they should be listened to.
Diplomats though, no matter how highly placed, can only do so much. In a welcome sign that the situation is being taken seriously, conferences have been scheduled involving the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to examine the consequences of food scarcity and to seek ways to make more food available.
Of course food security is not an issue totally on its own; it is linked to global warming, government policies and the search for bio-fuels. But of those issues, it is the most pressing. Simply put, without adequate food, humanity will suffer in the very short term. This could lead to the fall of governments and upheavals in societies.
The tragedy is that there is enough food available to feed the world's inhabitants but it is not distributed efficiently. Food is not a commodity but a basic right. For too many it is becoming a luxury.
