Six years ago, at another Food and Agriculture Organisation summit in Rome, The Times got hold of the menu for the sumptuous opening day lunch. Its publication caused a scandal.
The 2002 summit had set itself the target of halving the number of hungry people in the world by 2015. It began by feeding the heads of state lobster and foie gras and letting them wash it all down with an array of fine wines.
Of the world’s wealthier nations, only Italy, the host, and Spain, the holder of the EU presidency, sent heads of state or government. The British sent Alun Michael, then Minister for Rural Affairs.
By contrast, dozens of presidents, prime ministers and even monarchs arrived from the developing world. They included President Mbeki of South Africa and, of course, Robert Mugabe.
Perhaps mindful of accusations of hypocrisy levelled at them six years ago, world leaders tightened their belts this year and were offered a far more modest menu of pasta, mozzarella, spinach and sweetcorn at the equivalent fixture.
“It does not look good if leaders discussing global starvation are seen to be dining lavishly,” an FAO official said. “At the last summit in 2002 we did not give enough thought to the menu and were open - unfairly, in our view - to the charge of hypocrisy.”
