The recent skyrocketing cost of food threatens the security of people all over the world. The price of wheat has doubled in less than a year, and rice, which is the staple food for 3 billion people, has tripled in cost in the last 18 months. For example, right now in Burkina Faso, a middle-class family of seven spends 75 percent of its monthly revenue on food costs alone. If immediate needs are not met, and if resources and policies supporting increased agricultural production are not put in place soon, we will see a cascade of hunger across the globe!

The sacredness and fundamental dignity of every human life calls us to do everything we can to meet the basic needs of our brothers and sisters around the globe, including the need for food. We must find immediate and long-term solutions so that more prices increases are averted. A first step is making sure that emergency help is provided in the U.S. 2008 Supplemental Appropriations bill and that money is also set aside for development programs to avert future food emergencies. Please take action today!