Another Global Food Crisis in the Making?

Another Global Food Crisis in the Making?

The worst drought to hit the USA in over half a century has sent international food prices climbing again. Prices for corn and soybeans (the USA is the world’s biggest producer of both) last week passed the peaks they reached during the 2007/8 global food crisis which saw riots in over 30 countries, the number of hungry pass 1 billion, and the humanitarian system overwhelmed by spiralling demand for food aid. Things are not yet this bad. First, corn and soybeans are not the most important commodities for poor households, which typically depend more on rice and wheat (for bread). For this reason, the impacts of the current spike on hunger and poverty are likely to be limited. Instead, richer consumers will feel the pinch first: corn and soybeans are typically used in animal feed – so the price rise will be felt most by people who can afford to eat meat and are able to adjust their consumption without going hungry. It follows that riots are less likely: it was the price of wheat in 2011 that provided a crucial spark for the initial protests in North Africa that eventually became the Arab spring.

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