The Impact of Food Prices Beyond the Developed World

April 15, 2008

I am a big believer that the next big shock to the global economy is not the weakness of the US economy, but skyrocketing food prices.

My good friend Shirley is a relief worker for Trocaire out of Mozambique, Africa and through her, poverty and hunger is an issue particularly dear to my heart.

When she tells me that rising food prices are hitting developing / under-developed nations, I know how serious of a problem its become:

Soaring food prices

Rising food prices all over the world are hitting the poor hardest. The rapid increase in the price of staple foods – an increase of 83% in the past three years – is due to increased demand, the increased use of land to grow crops for biofuels rather than food, and poor weather (in large part caused by climate change). Hundreds of thousands of people from Haiti to Egypt to Afghanistan are at greater risk of hunger, and riots have broken out in several countries. A few months ago, Mozambicans, who are usually peaceful, took to the streets to protest the rise in transport and food prices.

In Haiti > Hungry mob attacks Haiti palace

Crowds of demonstrators in Haiti have tried to storm the presidential palace in the capital Port-au-Prince as protests continue over food prices. The demonstrators outside the presidential palace said the rising cost of living in Haiti meant they were struggling to feed themselves. “We are hungry,” they shouted before attempting to smash open the palace gates.

In recent months, it has become common among Haiti’s poor to use the expression “grangou klowox” or “eating bleach”, to describe the daily hunger pains people face, because of the burning feeling in their stomachs.

haiti

In Cairo, bread is so scarce that it is sold from behind a barricaded wall. Worldwide, the cost of living is sky-rocketing. In Egypt, the price of staples, such as bread and milk, has doubled in the past year alone.

I found this great map by Allegra Stratton on all the countries that have had food related riots in recent months:

food

What can we do? I don’t know, but at least we should be aware of how serious the rise in food prices has become not just for our pocketbooks, but for people around the world.