The UN food agency says a record one billion people, one sixth of the world's population, are suffering from hunger.

The head of the Food and Agriculture Organistation, Jacques Diouf, blamed the global economic slowdown and persistent high food prices. Mr Diouf warns that hunger is a serious threat to global peace and security. He called on the international community to reach agreement on ways of eradicating hunger as soon as possible.

The vast majority of the one billion people who do not get enough to eat live in the developing world. Just 15 million of them are in the developed world. The FAO expects global hunger to grow this year by 11 percent, mostly as a result of the economic crisis.

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