As you all know by now, there were slim pickings for the poor at this year's G8.  The one dish of any substance served up by the world's richest "chefs d'etat" was a promise to come up with at least $20 billion to help the growing ranks of the world's hungry.  Though how much of that is warmed-up left-overs from other promises, remains unclear.  

In this blog, I'm pulling together a few reactions I think are worth your while reading.

This stinging analysis by Martin Khor of the South Group on why Africa is food-poor, puts pay to any argument that it's "their own fault" or the result of "misguided aid" by "do-gooders"...of course, it's really all about keeping the developed world rich!

Well, I thought the last day of the G8 Summit might be ending on just a slightly brighter note than the first.  The buzz all week was that the leaders of the rich world would ante up $15 billion in food security and development money. Then a few hours before the final wrap, we heard it was $20 billion...still short of the $30 B the FAO says is needed, but the news certainly went down well amongst the civil society people here. But when the actual statement came out, it was yet another indigestible fudge. The bold italics below are textbook examples of how to look good without actually doing anything...yet.