Rising food prices could spark global unrest: UN official

Rising food prices could spark worldwide unrest and threaten political stability, the UN's top humanitarian official warned yesterday, after two days of rioting in Egypt over the doubling of prices of basic foods in a year and protests in other parts of the world.

Sir John Holmes, undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and the UN's emergency relief coordinator, told a conference in Dubai that escalating prices would trigger protests and riots in vulnerable nations.

He said food scarcity and soaring fuel prices would compound the damaging effects of global warming. Prices have risen 40 percent on average globally since last summer.