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Interview with Professor Most of us have heard about Professor Ziegler,
either through his actions for the Right to Food in
the United Nations Human Rights Council, through
reading his books or seeing him on TV. He has just
published a new book, entitled Betting on Famine:
sociologist, author and first Special
Why the World Still Goes Hungry. We were able to
Rapporteur on the Right to Food meet him and discuss his latest book.

Q: Today in the press you have the ozone layer has holes in it; is Food must not be burned as fuel
written an open letter to op- true that there is too much CO2 in for cars; it has to be used to feed
pose bio-fuel. We know you as the atmosphere; and it is also true human beings.
a human rights defender, an that a large part of this CO2 comes
advocate for the right to food, from fossil fuels -- oil, gasoline, To answer your question, the ad-
and now you are working to cars, etc. So the solution to pro- vocacy and lobbying in Brussels
halt biofuel. Don't you think tect the environment is (a) to fight is incredible. People believe what
that this debate is something against pollution, and (b) to replace is written in the press and do not
beyond ordinary people's mineral oil with bio-diesel and bio- necessarily see what lays behind it.
interest? ethanol. The first argument is right
and you cannot say otherwise, but I would like to say that the man
The corporations behind bio-etha- it is still a crime against humani- behind the Right to Food and who
nol and bio-diesel are huge trusts ty to burn hundreds of tonnes of started it all was the Norwegian
and all the negotiations are being wheat and maize. Every 5 seconds Asbjørn Eide. I think that we must
carried out in closed sessions, so a child in the world dies of hunger give him credit for his work, as
there are lots of things going on or the consequences of malnu- he was the person who wrote the
behind the scenes. There is a huge trition and illnesses of different General Comment no. 10 in which
misperception out there and I will kinds. Almost a billion people are he explains what lies behind the
try to explain. under-fed, so burning hundreds of concept. It is true that I was the
tons of food is a crime regardless of first Special Rapporteur for the
It is true that there is a question of the arguments we can advance for Right to Food of the Human Rights
climate change; it is also true that bio-fuels. Council. But without his comments

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