New York Times: World Hunger Haunts the U.N. Festivities
Editorial Board

“As the leaders of the world posture and sermonize for the United Nations General Assembly this week, a growing global specter should spur common concern among them: World hunger, after a decade-long decline, spiked last year, because of scourges like global warming and civil conflicts that show little sign of abating. The number of undernourished human beings on the planet increased from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimated, in a report timed for the world leaders’ annual review of their hopes and fears for the planet. … If the diplomats at the United Nations are paying attention to the world out there, the report should prod them into a fresh look at hunger and an increased resolve to drive it back down. … Unfortunately, President Trump … has already proposed a severe cut in funding for the organization. But the United Nations is larger than any of its members. Its ultimate constituency is humanity itself. The planet’s diplomats have been put on notice that, whatever their differences, they cannot afford to let up in the fight against global hunger” (9/22).