5% of Africa purchased by private interests since 2000

In France, Jean Ziegler, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, who ignited a global controversy when he described the production of biofuels as a “crime against humanity,” has published a book called “Betting on Famine”, now in French, but available in English in the fall. The book explores biofuels, global hunger and the influence of multi-national corporations. “The European Union is depicted – accurately – as a vassal of big business,” observed book reviewer David Cronin, who also noted, “Nearly 5% of Africa has been bought by private interests since 2000, according to Land Matrix, an online database. This means that an area the size of Kenya – one of the continent’s biggest countries – has been snatched up.”

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