Why are Food Prices so High,
Why is There
a Global Food Shortage? The Facts
by www.SixWise.com
Take a trip to just about any grocery store in the United
States, and you're in for some sticker shock. Since March
2007, grocery costs increased over 5 percent according to
government figures -- the worst grocery inflation since the
early 1990s.
In the last two years, the price of eggs has increased
62 percent.
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Just how much have food prices gone up?
The Labor Department compiled the official inflation numbers
and found that:
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Egg prices have increased 25 percent since February 2007
-- and 62 percent in the last two years
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Milk, dried beans, peas and lentil prices have increased
17 percent in the past year
-
Cheese prices have increased 15 percent
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Rice and pasta increased 13 percent
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Bread costs rose 12 percent
While here in the United States we are faced with rising
food costs, people in other regions of the world are not so
lucky: they're facing an all-out food shortage.
"This is a silent tsunami," says Josette Sheeran
of the World Food Programme, a United Nations agency.
Unlike past hunger crises that have resulted from war or
natural disasters, the hunger crisis of 2008 is different.
This excerpt from "The Silent Tsunami" in The Economist
explains it quite well:
"The measures of today's crisis are misery and malnutrition.
The middle classes in poor countries are giving up health
care and cutting out meat so they can eat three meals a
day. The middling poor, those on $2 a day, are pulling children
from school and cutting back on vegetables so they can still
afford rice. Those on $1 a day are cutting back on meat,
vegetables and one or two meals, so they can afford one
bowl. The desperate-those on 50 cents a day-face disaster."
Is growing corn to produce biofuels responsible for
the global food shortage? Some experts are not so sure.
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To put things into perspective, according to some estimates
food prices in some poor nations have risen by up to 80 percent.
What is Causing These High Food Prices?
There is no easy answer to this question, though the hot-button
response is often "ethanol." Massive amounts of
corn are being used to make biofuel, and now there isn't enough
food to go around, the theory goes.
The UN's reporter for the Right to Food even went so far
as to call biofuel production "a crime against humanity."
Yet this is really only one piece of the puzzle, according
to some economists. In fact, U.S. farmers have actually increased
their plantings this year (soybeans are up 18 percent, wheat
6 percent), not decreased them to make room for corn, according
to this
Chicago Tribune article.
What is really contributing to soaring food costs, experts
say, is a mix of:
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Millions of people in China and India rising out of
poverty and demanding a more calorie-rich diet
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Rising energy prices, including the price of fuel, which
increases the cost of production, transport, wages and
packaging of food
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A weak U.S. dollar, which is encouraging exports of
American crops and food products
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Unsustainable use of land and water
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Trade imbalances among nations
Meanwhile, a report released by the UN's World Food Program
(WFP) says that the world produces enough food for every one,
yet over 800 million people go hungry. Why? Politics.
"The unequal distribution of food and conflict over
control of the world's dwindling natural resources presents
a major political and social challenge to governments,"
said the report's authors. "[It is] likely to reach
crisis status as climate change advances and world population
expands from 6.7 billion to 9.2 billion by 2050."
What Can be Done?
On a small scale, you may feel powerless to impact rising
food prices, but there are some things you can do.
- Consider purchasing a flex-fuel vehicle that can run
on biofuels. According to Merrill Lynch analysts, far
from causing the food crises, biofuel programs are actually
keeping oil prices about $13 lower per barrel -- a savings
that adds up to $65 billion in foreign oil payments.
If everyone were to purchase a flex-fuel vehicle, gasoline
would be forced to compete against other fuels, which
could ultimately take down the oil cartel. Some are also
pushing for Congress to require all new cars to be flex-fuel
vehicles that can run on gasoline, ethanol or methanol
-- a technology that costs just $100 per vehicle.
-
Buy your food locally. You may be able to cut
your grocery bills simply by supporting local farmers.
When you buy your food locally, you're saving on transportation
costs and encouraging your local economy. You're also
supporting small farms that favor sustainable agriculture.
Recommended Reading
Daryl
Hannah, Sex Slaves & the New Global Sex Trade
The
Worldwide Threat to Coral Reefs and Why It Should Matter to
Everyone
Sources
The
New York Times March 15, 2008
Economist.com
April 17, 2008
Organic
Consumers Association April 21, 2008
ChicagoTribune.com
May 6, 2008
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