JOHN O'SHEA,
Madam, - The EU spends the equivalent of $2.20 on agricultural subsidies every day for each cow in Europe. Meanwhile, 1.5 billion of the world's population exist on $1 a day or less. This illustrates perfectly the attitudes of the Western, rich, countries to the plight of the poor.
Large summit meetings are convened regularly at great expense to discuss methods of solving the worlds', problems but when it comes down to parting with the cash, we falter. Either we want to help the billions living below the poverty line or we don't. If we do, there will be a considerable cost involved, certainly in the short term. The alternative doesn't bear thinking about.
The present situation, which involves thousands of children dying daily from hunger and hunger-related diseases in a world that produces enough to feed its population several times over, cannot be tolerated. We have a duty to the weak and the vulnerable no matter what the cost. - Yours etc.,
JOHN O'SHEA, GOAL, PO Box 19, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin.