Well - DUH!

World leaders tone down menu over fears of hypocrisy - Times Online:

"Lobster, goose and foie gras have given way to pasta, mozzarella, spinach and sweetcorn. 'It does not look good if leaders discussing global starvation are seen to be dining lavishly,' an official of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) 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.'"

Gee, I don't know what anyone would have been upset with that original menu --- oh yeah --- the UN are idiots.

how about this for an idea?

how about you guys do a little research and find out what it is the poor eat in each of your cities ... or even what it is that each country feeds their poor .... and eat that for one night?? Or for however long the summit is?

Oh -- because that would offend your pallets -- oh -- I'm sorry.

" ... The 2002 menu, published by The Times, began with foie gras on toast with kiwi fruit and lobster in vinaigrette, followed by fillet of goose with olives and seasonal vegetables and ending with a compote of fruit with vanilla, all accompanied by an array of fine wines ... "

Oh please ... that sounds like the typical NY dinner ... hell, NY has a $100 burger ... the UN is located in NY right?

So how did they change the menu exactly?

" ... This time the catering was scaled down. Leaders first ate vol au vent* stuffed with sweetcorn and mozzarella, followed by a pasta dish with a sauce of pumpkin and shrimps, and then veal meatballs and cherry tomatoes, with a fruit salad and vanilla ice-cream for dessert. The wine was a "straightforward but very acceptable Orvieto Classico" ...

.... Tomorrow the lunch menu features cheese mousse, pasta, green beans and pineapple with ice-cream, all washed down with a Nero d'Avola Cabernet from Sicily. On Thursday, the last day of the summit, delegates will be offered courgette tart, parmesan risotto, ragout of veal with sautee potatoes, and lemon mousse for dessert with a strawberry sauce, with Pino Grigio from Trentino as the wine ..."

Okay - that's better -- NOT. Although on the bright side the mozzerella cheese, according to the story, is made from buffalo milk instead of cow milk. So I'm wondering if they can make it with other types of milk too -- like goat .... llama ... camel ... oxen ... etc.

Now lets not forget where they are eating these meals as well .... it certainly is not going to be in some back alley someplace. It will be in some swanky restraunt.

So how much $$ does this cost? And how many people could that money feed??? That is the REAL question .... Feed My Starving Children makes/sends meals which cost $0.17 a meal

NOTE:
* from Wikipedia: A Vol-au-vent (French for "windblown" to describe its lightness) is a small hollow case of puff pastry. A round opening is cut in the top and the pastry cut out for the opening is replaced as a lid after the case is filled. Vol-au-vents can accommodate various fillings, such as mushrooms, prawns, fruit, or cheese, but they are almost always savory.