The head of a UN food agency called on people around the world Wednesday to join him in a day of fasting to highlight the plight of undernourished people, whose ranks have surged past 1 billion in the global economic crisis. Jacques Diouf, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, said he hoped the move would encourage action by world leaders who will take part in a three-day food summit at the agency's headquarters starting Monday.
Presenting the summit goals to reporters, Diouf called for ``a global day of hunger strike'' on the eve of the summit to show solidarity with the world's hungry. Diouf said he would begin a 24-hour fast on Saturday morning. The agency also launched an online petition against world hunger. The Rome-based agency announced earlier this year that hunger now affects a record 1.02 billion, or one in six people, with the financial meltdown, high food prices, drought and war blamed.