Due to oil exports from Libya being cut by, “ 850,000 and one million barrels per day,” oil prices have increased dramatically and “higher oil prices affect all aspects of the food production chain, from fertilizer to transport”. This has led to huge increases in the price of domestic food all around the world. The FAO believes that high food prices are a major part of the unrest and uprisings that have occurred in the Middle East and Northern Africa. This is the eighth consecutive month that food prices have increased, “with dairy prices up 4.0 percent from January and cereal prices up 3.7 percent” mostly because of an increase in the demand for corn and a much lower supply available.
he decreased availability of corn is due to the “larger use of maize for ethanol production in the United States”. This means that corn that could be used for human consumption is instead being used to produce alcohol. The G20 group has pledged to take action against wide spread hunger and rising food costs but as of yet nothing concrete has been done to help feed those that are in the greatest need of food now. Along with the increase in corn and dairy, meat prices have also rose by 2.0 percent as did the price of oils and fats.
Title: World Food Prices Hit Record Highs Amid Oil Jitters
Published: Agence France Presse, 3/3/11
URL— http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/03-1
Author: No Author given on the article
Faculty Evaluator: Andy Deseran, Sonoma State University
Student Researcher: Jordan Hall, Sonoma State University