Food Prices Rise to 'Dangerous Levels'

[Charleston Chew]

Run time: 02:29 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOWdtc1wTSc   Posted on YouTube: February 21, 2011 By YouTube Member: NewsyVideos Views on YouTube: 7   Posted on DU: February 21, 2011 By DU Member: Charleston Chew Views on DU: 745

 
If the saying is - 'you are what you eat' - what are you if you have nothing to eat? That may be the predicament facing tens of millions of people in developing countries after a 15 percent food price index increase - a rise the World Bank says hits 'dangerous levels'.

We're analyzing coverage from CNN, The New York Times, Slate, Xinhua, BBC and the Jamaica Observer on the global food crisis.

A reporter for CNN discusses some of the issues behind the rising food prices.

"But what are the reasons? Analysts say the weather is one, demand for biofuel is another, and a major concern - rapid growth in emerging markets that has been driving up demand."

With oil prices going up, prices are also spiking in biofuels like ethanol. A guest contributor for The New York Times says - corn's high price causes a domino effect in the commodities market.

"High corn prices cause higher meat, dairy, wheat and soy prices for consumers. Since last June, the corn price has doubled. <...> And because of increased demand for a dwindling amount of oil which costs more to produce, embedded energy costs in food are another huge driver of today's higher food prices."

A writer for Slate says this rapid growth in emerging markets affects commodities along the food chain.

"<...> the simple laws of supply and demand are in play as well. In developing nations, more people are buying more food. Moreover, they are purchasing more meat, which requires not just the cow or pig, but the grain to feed it."

A writer for Xinhua notes a factor some financial media analysts are not touching on - the fiscal policies of developed nations such as the United States.

"The answer lies in the ultra-loose monetary policy of the United States <...> The U.S. Federal Reserve is driving up food prices by cranking up its dollar printing presses and devaluing its own currency."

A report from the BBC explains the economic and political consequences rising food prices can have on underdeveloped countries.

"In poor countries like Bolivia, where people spend a large proportion of their money on food, such food price inflation really hurts. It's easy to see how political instability can follow."

Finally, an editor for the Jamaica Observer offers a simple solution to help lower food prices - buy locally grown foods.

"Consumers can make a significant contribution if in making their choice of food they spend their money wisely in both economic and nutritional terms. When we consume locally produced food we employ Jamaicans, and when we eat imported food we employ foreigners and pay them in foreign exchange."

So what do you think? Are rising food prices a big concern - or is this just another spike on the global economic chart?

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. No one is mentioning hedge fund speculators driving up the prices?

The economic blogs sure are talking about it.

[Charleston Chew]

2. Making Fortune on Poverty: JP Morgan's Big Food Stamp Business

While most Americans are struggling hard to overcome the hardships of the recession, the profits of national banks continue to rise. JP Morgan is among those cashing-in ... and it's a contract to process food stamp payments that's helping it on its way. RT's Maria Portnaya found out how the rich benefit off the back of the poor.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x555040

[fascisthunter]

3. sociopaths

a day of reckoning comes to mind.

[Charleston Chew]

4. Rising food prices threaten 1 billion with chronic hunger

Food inflation has reached “dangerous levels,” the World Bank said last week, with prices rising by 15 percent globally between October and January. The warning came as governments around the world are shaken by protests driven in part by rapid increases in the prices of food and other basic goods.

Since June 2010, the soaring cost of staple foods has pushed 44 million more of the world’s poor into “extreme poverty,” surviving on less than $1.25 per day, according to the World Bank’s February “Food Price Watch.” This figure reflects 68 million people who fell into extreme poverty, minus 24 million that the organization says were “able to escape” as “net food producers.”

The World Bank classifies 925 million people as undernourished, and projects that by year’s end the number will exceed 1 billion—one in every six people on Earth

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/feb2011/food-f21.shtml