The sixth edition of The State of Food Insecurity in the World reports that the number of chronically hungry people in the developing world has fallen by only 9 million since the World Food Summit baseline period of 1990–1992. The conclusion is inescapable – we must do better. Looking at the impressive progress that more than 30 countries in all developing regions have made in reducing hunger, the report highlights another clear and compelling lesson – we can do better. And for the fi rst time, The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2004 presents provisional estimates of the staggering costs that hunger infl icts on households and nations – the millions of lives ravaged by premature death and disability, the billions of dollars in lost productivity and earnings. On both moral and pragmatic grounds, these estimates lead to one more unavoidable conclusion – we cannot afford not to do better. The report also includes a special feature examining the impact that the rapid growth of cities and incomes in developing countries and the globalization of the food industry have had on hunger, food security and nutrition. The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2004 concludes with an urgent appeal to scale up action, resources and commitment in order to achieve the World Food Summit goal. That goal of cutting the number of hungry people in half by the year 2015 can still be reached if we just focus our efforts over the next ten years on simple, low-cost, targeted actions that will improve food security quickly for very large numbers of people.