Hunger is already being used as a weapon. Soon, predicts Amin Howeidi*, it will become the weapon of choice Food and energy have been thrown into the same pot, so to speak. Since it was decided to use agricultural crops to produce biofuels the hunger for energy has become mixed up with the more familiar variety, and it's all part of man's pursuit of happiness, we're told. The international community acted as if shortages of food and fuel were a surprise though the warning signs have been around for decades. First everyone rushed head first into producing biofuels, then everyone suddenly realised what a big mistake it was. The issue was brought up during Sharm El-Sheikh's regional Davos gathering and then again during the Food Summit in Rome. On both occasions, President Hosni Mubarak spoke about the suffering the current situation has engendered. He made it clear that feeding the poor is an international responsibility and that energy and food producers must sit together and talk. It makes no sense to produce energy for machines while humans go hungry, the president said. They are laudable words that sum up a problem that is bound to get worse given that much of the current global malaise is the work of the world's foremost power and troublemaker, the US. I do not want to get into technical details, preferring to address the strategic aspects of the problem. There is a clear link between food and energy. When the price of one goes up the price of the other follows, and both the fuel-and the food-hungry suffer. The Arabs may be energy-rich but we buy most of our food from abroad. This means that we have to sit down and talk with those who have surplus food. In a best case scenario we would all agree to hold back on biofuel production until the whole thing is sorted out. The worst case scenario, however, will see food become the next technological bomb and starvation the weapon of choice. Scary, you may say. Let's not forget that every single technology man has invented has ended up being used as a weapon. When, as a result of the 1973 War, Arab countries cut back their production of oil Kissinger said that "Bedouins" must not be allowed to control the energy so crucial to the West. He also advised the West to find alternative sources of energy. Since then scientists in the West have tried their hands at several solutions. Meanwhile, we have wasted time. We had everything we needed, the money, water, land and the manpower. We could have been producing all the food we consume by now. But we didn't get our act together. We didn't even economise on our consumption of food. The US wants to control the world. It may have won the Cold War but it is still thinking of new frontiers to conquer. In 2006 President Bush made it a national goal that 10 per cent of car fuel be bio- produced by 2010, a decision that helped trigger the current crisis. The US also has other energy sources, nuclear as well as fossil. And it has food. We only have oil. A piece of advice: don't rule out anything for now. Some used to rule out a trip to the moon, others the possibility of nuclear attack. Then what happened? Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened, and man landed on the moon. As I write this, food is being used as a weapon in Gaza. International agencies are powerless to do anything about it. It can happen again. Starvation is a weapon, and it is only a matter of time before it is used for political ends. * The writer is former defence minister and chief of General Intelligence.
