4 ms·
The current food crisis cannot be blamed on third world governments, as was the case in most earlier famines. This crisis in caused by a sudden spike in the pri
by mdemare 18y ago
The current food crisis cannot be blamed on third world governments, as was the case in most earlier famines. This crisis in caused by a sudden spike in the price of rice, grain and other staples. See also this article: http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11050146 http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=1...
Moving from growing food to growing biofuels is necessarily going to influence the price of food - basically the prices of oil and of food staples are going to move in tandem. And we should be very careful before we commit one fifth of arable land to biofuels.
Ultimately this food crisis is caused by poverty, and there's no easy cure for that.
- richcollins 18y agoNot debasing the currency is a start.
- gaius 18y agoThat is simply not true! See Zimbabwe. Not long ago they were a huge exporter of food, the "breadbasket of Africa" everyone called them. Now look at them. Mugabe has brought them to ruin.
- mdemare 18y agoSure, Zimbabwe is a total disaster, but the current food crisis is world-wide: in Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Haiti, the Philippines, Egypt. etc. The price of rice has almost tripled in less than two years. http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11049284 http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cf...