OCT. 18, 2011 VOLUME 5, NUMBER 20 PAGES 499-524 WWW.GLOBALRESEARCHER.COM Rising Prices ARE HIGH HERE TO STAY?

lobal food prices reached record highs early this year, sending millions around the world into pover-

ty and contributing to starvation in East Africa. Many blame the government-subsidized growth in

the market for , such as ethanol. Biofuels are expected to consume 40 percent of this year’s

corn crop from the world’s largest producer — the United States. Others say specula- tGors caused food prices to ricochet wildly. Europe is considering adopting restrictions on similar to a new U.S. law, but Wall Street is lobbying hard to weaken the American regulations. Perennially high food prices may be

the first sign that changing climate is handicapping agriculture. To feed the world’s growing population, experts say

farmers must double their food output by mid-century — a tall order to fill without destroying more rain forests and

further boosting planet-warming carbon

emissions. The solution may be a combi-

nation of two warring philosophies: high-

tech agriculture and traditional farming

methods that are kinder to the environ-

ment.

Protesters carry a man waving a baguette in Tunis, Tunisia, on Jan. 18, 2011. Anger over rising food prices mobilized many of the thousands of people who took to the streets in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East during the “Arab Spring.”

PUBLISHED BY CQ PRESS, AN IMPRINT OF SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC. WWW.CQPRESS.COM RISING FOOD PRICES

THE ISSUES Biofuels Linked to Future 503 Food Price Hikes • Are government incen- A humanitarian group says Oct. 18, 2011 501 tives for biofuels driving prices for certain Volume 5, Number 20 up food prices? ingredients will spike. • Are specula- MANAGING EDITOR: Kathy Koch tors causing high and Could That Seed in a Jar [email protected] 504 Save Mankind? volatile food prices? Ancient plants could save CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Thomas J. Billitteri • Can farmers meet in- millions from starvation. [email protected]; Thomas J. Colin creasing demands for food [email protected] at affordable prices? Food Prices Soared in CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Brian Beary, 507 Past Decade Roland Flamini, Sarah Glazer, Reed Karaim, BACKGROUND By September prices had Robert Kiener, Jina Moore, Jennifer Weeks exceeded their 2008 peak. DESIGN/PRODUCTION EDITOR: Olu B. Davis Investing in Food 510 Food-commodity trading 509 Food Prices Skyrocketed ASSISTANT EDITOR: Darrell Dela Rosa soared after Congress in Past Year FACT CHECKER: Michelle Harris deregulated it in 2000. Prices jumped at least 50 percent. 512 Green Revolution Chronology Modern techniques boosted 511 Key events since 1944. farm output. \ Can Ecological Farming Fluctuating Supplies 512 Feed the World? 515 Government policies and Ancient ways could replace bad weather hurt supplies. conventional methods. An Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc. VICE PRESIDENT AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Prices Spike 514 Governments Set Jayne Marks 515 Rising food prices in Biofuels Targets Official goals vary around DIRECTOR, ONLINE PUBLISHING: 2007-08 triggered unrest. the world. Todd Baldwin At Issue CURRENT SITUATION 517 Are government biofuels in- Copyright © 2011 CQ Press, an Imprint of centives boosting food prices? SAGE Publications, Inc. SAGE reserves all Crisis Averted? copyright and other rights herein, unless pre- 515 A crisis seems less likely Voices from Abroad vi ous ly spec i fied in writing. No part of this in 2011-12. 524 Headlines and editorials from publication may be reproduced electronical- around the world. ly or otherwise, without prior written per- mission. Un au tho rized re pro duc tion or trans - OUTLOOK mis sion of SAGE copy right ed material is a FOR FURTHER RESEARCH violation of federal law car ry ing civil fines of Climate Change up to $100,000. 518 Warmer weather may For More Information 521 Organizations to contact. CQ Press is a registered trademark of Con- mean permanently high gressional Quarterly Inc. food prices. Bibliography CQ Global Researcher is pub lished twice 522 Selected sources used. monthly online in PDF and HTML format by IDEBARS AND RAPHICS CQ Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications. S G The Next Step Annual full-service electronic subscriptions 523 Additional articles. Poor Nations Hit by start at $500. For pricing, call 1-800-834-9020, 502 Big Price Spikes ext. 1906. To purchase CQ Global Researcher Citing CQ Global Researcher electronic rights, visit www.cqpress.com or Prices more than doubled in 523 Sample bibliography formats. a year. call 866-427-7737.

Cover: AFP/Getty Images/Martin Bureau

500 CQ Global Researcher Rising Food Prices BY SARAH GLAZER

Shortly after the export ban, bread prices surged in Egypt, THE ISSUES Russia’s biggest cus- ast December a 26- tomer and one of the world’s year-old Tunisian who largest food importers. Egypt L dreamed of saving was forced to import higher- enough money to buy a car priced wheat from the Unit- went into the street to sell ed States, putting financial pres- vegetables and fruit from his sure on already-strapped cart in the dusty town of Sidi Egyptian families, who typi- Bouzid. Although he was ac- cally spend about 40 percent customed to being bullied by of their income on food (com- police, he couldn’t take it any- pared to less than 10 percent more after a policewoman con- in U.S. households). 6 fiscated his produce, slapped Frustrated by high food him, spat at him and insulted prices, unemployment and re- his dead father. pressive governments, young In protest, Mohammed Egyptians gathered to protest Bouazizi went to the munici- in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in late pal government building on January, joining the chain of s Dec. 17 and set himself on s protests that had begun in e r G

fire — an immolation that set Tunisia. In Algeria, protests that n off a chain of angry street h broke out in late December o J / s

protests that spread across the e were a direct response to g Arab world. 1 a record prices for bread, milk m I

y

To Rami Zurayk, an agron- t and sugar and high unem- t omy professor at the Univer- e ployment. By the time the so- G sity of Beirut, it was no co- Traders signal their orders in the “wheat pit” at Chicago’s called Arab Spring protests incidence that the so-called Mercantile Exchange, which sets global prices for the world’s ended in Tunisia, Egypt and Arab Spring began in a rural four major grains — wheat, corn, rice and . Some Libya, the leaders of those economists blame commodities speculators and the rising area where a drought and demand for biofuels for rising food prices. Others blame countries had been deposed 7 scarce water are making it poor weather, an imbalance between supply and demand or were on the run. harder for farmers to make a and low surplus stocks. “The kind of prices we have living. Frustrated young men can only contribute to more with no prospects in farming set out chapatti taped to his forehead. In Egypt, political instability and problems in for better opportunities in the cities, Tunisia and Yemen, demonstrators carried countries that are poor and import food,” only to find no work and high food pots and pans and brandished says Abdolreza Abbassian, senior grains prices — since more than half of the baguettes to protest high food prices. economist at the U.N. Food and Agri- food in the Middle East and North While most Western accounts de- culture Organization (FAO) in Rome. Africa is imported. 2 scribed the demonstrations as political “We have been emphasizing that “Although the Arab revolutions were protests against authoritarian govern- these high prices are not one event; united under the slogan ‘the people want ments, economists pointed out that these are the prices we’ll have to live to bring down the regime’ not ‘the peo- rising food prices coupled with high with — not like the past,” he contin- ple want more bread,’ food was a cata- unemployment helped ignite already- ues. “This has taken poorer countries lyst,” according to Zurayk. 3 “I think that smoldering discontent. Many pointed to by surprise who are used to decades the prices of food mobilized people.” 4 a chain of events that began with Rus- of low prices.” As protests engulfed one Arab coun- sia’s worst drought in a century in the Other experts agree that higher try after another in the ensuing months, summer of 2010, killing one-third of the food prices aren’t going away. In Feb- a widely photographed demonstrator wheat crop and leading the government ruary, world food prices reached record in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa showed to ban wheat exports to keep domes- levels, following eight consecutive up with baguettes and an uncooked tic food prices down. 5 months of increases. Wheat traded at

www.globalresearcher.com Oct. 18, 2011 501 RISING FOOD PRICES

Poor Nations Hit by Big Price Spikes Several of the poorest countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are grappling with food prices for key commodities such as , wheat and potatoes that are more than twice last year’s prices. In Somalia and Uganda, some prices have nearly tripled. At the same time, prices have dropped for certain commodities in some cities in other countries — such as the prices for potatoes in Santiago, Chile, and cassava !our in Bangkok, Thailand.

Price Changes for Key Commodities, 2010 to 2011

RUSSIA

BELARUS ARMENIA

KYRGYZSTAN

HONDURAS AFGHANISTAN NICARAGUA VIETNAM MAURITANIA NIGER MEXICO* CHAD ETHIOPIA PHILIPPINES EL SALVADOR SOMALIA KENYA PERU UGANDA THAILAND* BOLIVIA CHILE Price changes for key commodities TANZANIA Increases: Decreases: SOUTH AFRICA 0% to 59% -1% to -24% -25%+ MOZAMBIQUE 60% to 99% 100% to 180% Increases & Decreases: 180%+ Mixed

* In Mexico, maize prices rose in Culiácan but fell in Mexico City. In Bangkok, Thailand, cassava prices fell more than 25 percent, while maize fell less than 10 percent. Source: “Global Food Price Monitor,” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, September 2011, www.fao.org/giews/ english/gfpm/GFPM_09_2011.pdf . Map by Lewis Agrell

$8.50 to $9 a bushel — more than middle-income countries have escaped been dwarfed by the 68 million oth- twice the $4 price in July 2010. 8 Corn extreme as a result of rising ers, including city-dwellers, who fell prices had nearly doubled from the food prices, according to the World Bank. below the $1.25-a-day poverty line set year before. 9 Although prices have But the sudden price swings caught by the World Bank. The net result: An declined slightly since their peak in many small farmers in developing coun- extra 44 million people have fallen February, they remain near the 30-year tries by surprise, making it difficult to into extreme poverty in response to record set in 2008, which sparked boost their plantings to benefit from the higher food prices. 10 global food riots. higher prices, even as their own fami- Although prices for the four major Normally, farmers benefit from high ly food costs were skyrocketing. world grains — wheat, corn, rice and crop prices. Indeed, since June 2010, The 24 million farmers who have soybeans — are set at the Chicago some 24 million farmers in low- and benefited from higher prices have Mercantile Exchange, the effect of ris-

502 CQ Global Researcher ing prices differs enormously around the globe. In the United States, “if the Biofuels Linked to Future Food Price Hikes price of wheat doubles, a loaf of bread The anticipated global expansion of biofuels by 2020 will signi!cantly increase goes from $2 to $2.10, because most of what we eat is packaging and trans- food prices for select commodities, according to ActionAid, a Johannesburg- portation. But if you live in northern based humanitarian group. Prices for the oilseeds (such as canola, saf"ower India or Pakistan, and you go to the and mustard, all of which are used to make biodiesel) will rise by nearly market and buy wheat, bring it home 80 percent. Prices for sugarcane and maize — used in other biofuels — are and grind it into flour and make cha- expected to rise by 65 and 41 percent, respectively. pattis, the price for your bread basi- cally doubles,” explains Lester Brown, Projected Food Price Hikes by 2020 Due to Biofuels Expansion an environmental activist and founder (based on 2008 prices) of the Earth Policy Institute, an envi- (percentage increase) ronmental research organization in 80% Washington, D.C. 70 76% And once the price of a major grain 60 65% goes up, consumers often substitute 50 another — such as corn — causing 40 41% all grains to rise together. 30 “The era of cheap prices is over,” 20 30% says Brown, who sees high prices as 10 0 a sign that climate change already is Maize Oilseeds Sugarcane Wheat making it harder to grow food. Food prices are rising for several rea- sons, and everyone has a favorite cul- Source: “Meals Per Gallon: The Impact of Industrial Biofuels on People and Global Hunger,” prit. But in agriculture, it’s usually a ActionAid, January 2010, www.actionaid.org.uk/doc_lib/meals_per_gallon_!nal.pdf combination of poor weather, an im- balance between supply and demand Others blame rising prices on the imately double their output over the and low surplus stocks. Some also blame growing influence of commodities next 40 years in order to feed the ad- the rising worldwide demand from bio- speculators. In January, French Pres- ditional 2 to 3 billion people project- fuels (fuel made from corn, sugarcane ident Nicolas Sarkozy said commodi- ed for 2050, according to the FAO. or other plants), which will consume ties speculation was “extortion” that However, the rate of growth in 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop this was “pillaging the poor.” 12 Both the agricultural production has been slow- year — up from 31 percent in 2008- European Union and the G-20 na- ing in recent years compared to the 2009. Since the 1970s the government tions are considering curbing specu- hyperproductive 1960s-80s, when the has been mandating a minimum amount lators, just as the United States did so-called Green Revolution helped of ethanol be blended into the nation’s last year when it enacted the Dodd- some countries’ farmers boost their motor fuel supply and has offered tax Frank Wall Street Reform Act. But some yields each year with new fertilizers incentives to petroleum refiners for anti-poverty activists say the EU and and modern techniques. Globally, agri- adding up to 10 percent ethanol to G-20 proposals already are being wa- cultural output has grown by 2.3 per- each gallon of gasoline they sell. U.S. tered-down due to opposition from cent per year since 1961. But over the transportation fuels must contain a the United Kingdom and the finan- next 20 years, production growth is minimum of 12.6 billion gallons of cial industry. 13 expected to fall to 1.5 percent a year, corn-based ethanol this year, creating Nevertheless, some long-term trends then plummet to less than 1 percent a guaranteed share of the motor fuels are sure to keep prices high, includ- in the two decades leading up to 2050, market for ethanol, originally intend- ing the burgeoning world population, the year world food demand is ex- ed to be roughly 10 percent. This has increasingly hotter, drier weather and pected to double, the FAO says. 14 triggered a surge in demand for corn, a growing global appetite for grain- And because of the heavy toll agri- the main ingredient of U.S.-produced intensive meat among consumers in culture is taking on the environment, ethanol. Thus, world corn prices now emerging economies such as China. feeding the planet will only get more increasingly are linked to the rising To meet this growing demand, the difficult, experts say. “The rise in de- price of oil. 11 planet’s farmers will need to approx- mand from population growth, growing

www.globalresearcher.com Oct. 18, 2011 503 RISING FOOD PRICES affluence and biofuels are on a collision “We’ve got to get back to some Bank calls “climate-smart agriculture” course with our ability to produce food,” sustainable level globally; otherwise — finding local, traditional farming says Jonathan A. Foley, director of the we’ll go extinct sooner or later, like techniques and indigenous food plants Institute on the Environment at the Uni- every other species has,” says Univer- that are well suited to hot, dry cli- versity of Minnesota. sity of Nebraska agronomist Charles mates, particularly if future weather Agriculture is now the main A. Francis, a visiting professor of patterns move in that direction. human-created threat to the envi- agroecology at the Norwegian Uni- Droughts like the one causing ronment, Foley contends. A high-tech versity of Life Sciences in Aas. Agroe- in Somalia and near-famine con- menu of fertilizer-dependent im- cology incorporates environmental ditions in Ethiopia will become more provements introduced by American stewardship into farming. (See sidebar, common, some experts predict. African agronomists to the developing world p. 512.) farmers, who for centuries planted their in the 1960s may have increased New biotechnology advances con- crops on June 24 — confident that the yields, but it also is exhausting and ceivably could increase crop yields. rainy season would arrive within a degrading soil and water supplies, But some experts say it’s time to start week or two — now “have no idea some experts say. (See p. 512.) thinking locally, using what the World whether the rains will start in May, June, Could That Seed in a Jar Save Mankind? Ancient plants could save millions from starvation.

few years ago, Israeli scientists took University of Min- But Kew’s secret weapon is the old-fashioned Mason jar, nesota agricultural economist Philip G. Pardey on a drive complete with orange rubber ring. After extensive testing, the A around Israel to see some plants. But not just any plants. jars were found to keep seeds the driest. The unimpressive, weedy-looking plants were the wild wheat To preserve the seeds of heirloom plant varieties in danger from which our biblical ancestors made their bread. of disappearing, Kew’s scientists train farmers and home gar- Those ancient plants may be all that stands between a fungal deners around the world to save seeds in Mason jars with a disease that threatens 90 percent of the world’s wheat crop and bit of charcoal or rice to keep them dry. the survival of millions of people if the disease jumps to other “We want to get away from the idea that a seed bank is continents. A fungus called stem rust regularly devastated wheat just for saving seeds long into the future,” says Kew Interna- crops throughout the world until the late 1960s, when a resistant tional Projects Coordinator Kate Gold. Kew is part of a broad wheat variety was found. Then in 1999, a strain of stem rust in international effort to save indigenous vegetables in places like Uganda — Ug99 — was found to have overcome that resistance. 1 sub-Saharan Africa. As diets shift toward processed, Western But many of the wild, biblical wheat varieties are resistant , traditional recipes for nutritious, local vegetables are to Ug99, according to Pardey. And it would be “really valuable” being lost, along with the habit of growing them. if someone could figure out which variety has the gene that is “If you walk into a grocery store in Dakar [Senegal] or resistant to the disease, he says. Abidjan [Ivory Coast] you find very few local products; you’ll For scientists at the Kew Millennium Seed Bank in West Sus- find boxed milk from Belgium and rice from Thailand,” says sex, south of London, the search is a race against time. Although Danielle Nierenberg, an expert on livestock and sustainable seed banks exist around the world, Kew is collaborating with agriculture at the Worldwatch Institute, who has documented more than 50 countries worldwide on the largest-ever effort to efforts to reclaim locally grown foods in 25 sub-Saharan coun- collect and conserve wild plant species. tries. 2 “Indigenous vegetables have been long ignored by re- As part of a 10-year program, Kew researchers first hope to search institutes, consumers and farmers because they’re con- save the wild relatives of 16 major food crops — including sta- sidered poor people’s foods — or even weeds — so people ples like rice, wheat and sweet potatoes. Then the scientists will have lost their taste for them.” help breeders find valuable traits — such as resistance to drought Yet such vegetables often are an important source of mi- and disease — that can be bred into conventional crops. cronutrients like Vitamin A, zinc and iron. In school gar- Kew plans to preserve seeds for up to hundreds of years, dening projects, young Africans are re-discovering the tastes depending on the species, in its modern, glass and concrete of their grandparents by learning to make traditional recipes, building that functions like a time capsule. The seeds can be according to the institute, which promotes sustainable de- protected in a vault designed to withstand earthquakes and velopment. nuclear accidents, and the building has state-of-the-art facilities Kew often finds plants in danger of disappearing by talk- for seed-drying and cold storage. ing to community members who remember eating them. In

504 CQ Global Researcher western Kenya, for instance, Kew researchers discovered 50 plants whose existence and preparation were known only to village elders. In Zambia, horticulturalist Mary O. Abukutsa-Onyango of Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture, has reintro- duced farmers to vegetables that can survive in the marginal, arid soils of Kenya’s lowlands. Many of the approximately 200 indigenous plants used by Kenyans in the past now “are ei- ther unknown or extinct,” she laments. 3 Kew scientists also hope to find plants that are resilient to climate change, such as a wild rice relative that flowers at night r e

when it is cooler. If future temperatures rise even a few de- z a l G

grees, rice yields would drop by 30 to 40 percent. But if night- h a

flowering characteristics were incorporated into farmed rice, r a S

millions of tons could be saved. / s s

“If we lose all our natural resources, we don’t know what op- e r P tions we’re cutting off for the future,” says biologist Ruth Eastwood, Q

who coordinates Kew’s program to collect wild relatives of con- C ventional crops. At England’s Kew Millenium Seed Bank, Moctar Sacandé, Most seed banks have no way of knowing whether the international project coordinator for Africa, displays a fruit from the thousands of seeds they hold have valuable traits, and gov- African baobab tree that is rich in vitamin C and calcium. ernment funding for the necessary genetic research has been Kew is storing seeds of wild foods like the baobab in hope of saving those with valuable traits from extinction. lacking. “If the seeds are sitting in the seed bank and you have no genetic information about them, they’re effectively worth- less,” says Pardey. the seeds might be valuable [in resisting] climate change or Still, seed-savers like those at Kew are “real heroes” to the next disease?” Jonathan A. Foley, a climate scientist and director of the Uni- — Sarah Glazer versity of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment. Since agri- culture began 10,000 years ago, thousands of crops have been 1 Brendan I. Koemer, “Red Menace,” Wired, Feb. 22, 2010, www.wired.com/maga lost. In fact, only 12 species contribute 80 percent of humans’ zine/2010/02/ff_ug99_fungus/. 2 total dietary intake today, compared to the more than 7,000 “State of the World 2011,” Worldwatch Institute, www.worldwatch.org/sow11. 3 that were used at some point in history. 4 Ibid., p. 34. 4 Zareen Bharucha and Jule Pretty, “The Roles and Values of Wild Foods “Throwing away the knowledge of previous generations is in Agriculture,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 2010, pp. a huge loss to civilization,” says Foley. “Who knows when 2913-2926, http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/365/1554/2913.full.pdf.

July or even August,” reports American Foley says the world could halt fur- tenable is another question.” agroecologist Roland Bunch. 15 ther expansion of farmland while still As scientists, governments and ac- “The reality is we have to double satisfying the need to double agricul- tivists debate how to provide enough production by 2050 or so, and we tural production by mid-century — if food at affordable prices without dam- have to completely halt almost all the it adopts ecological practices. 16 aging the environment, here are some environmental damage from large-scale “It’s at least physically possible to of the questions being debated: agriculture without giving it up,” says do it,” he says. “Whether it’s politically Foley. More planet-warming carbon is Are government incentives for emitted when tropical rain forests are * When tropical forests are cleared for farm- biofuels driving up food prices? cleared for farming than is emitted by ing, they are often burned down, releasing This year for the first time in his- all forms of transportation worldwide, large amounts of carbon. In addition, the cleared tory, more American corn is going he points out.* In a paper for the No- forests are no longer there to absorb carbon to ethanol refiners than to poultry vember issue of Scientific American, dioxide from the atmosphere. 17 and livestock producers, accounting

www.globalresearcher.com Oct. 18, 2011 505 RISING FOOD PRICES

Runge contends. “To deny this is what happened is disingenuous,” he says. “This was the idea — and it worked.” European governments eventually adopted similar incentives, and today subsidies for EU farmers to produce biofuels total more than $5.3 billion annually, according to ActionAid, a non- profit based in Johannesburg devoted to fighting hunger and poverty. 22 The

n Brazilian government also has a heavi- a r d

n ly subsidized biofuels industry, based e e

v on sugarcane. a R

/ The FAO and other international s e

g organizations recommended in a June a m I

report that G-20 governments re- y t t

e move their biofuels mandates and G / subsidies. Subsidies are encouraging P F

A the diversion of crops from food to An Indian policeman beats a demonstrator during a protest against rising inflation in New Delhi on Feb. 24, 2011, when food inflation was running at more than 11 percent in fuel and pushing food prices up, the India. Consumer prices for food had risen by 80 percent in six years, report said. And as government bio- according to the Credit Suisse investment house. fuels policies link crop prices ever closer to the price of oil, the report for 40 percent of this past year’s crop, American taxpayers “get to pay twice,” noted, abrupt rises in the price of according to the U.S. Department of says Brown, of the Earth Policy Insti- oil can increase food price volatili- Agriculture. 18 Meanwhile, world corn tute. “Once on April 15th and then at ty, making it hard for farmers to prices in July were up 90 percent over the supermarket checkout counter,” in know how much to plant. 23 The the same time a year ago. 19 the form of higher food prices. United States and Brazil successfully Since 1978, when corn prices were As the world’s largest corn pro- lobbied against the recommendation at rock bottom, the U.S. government ducer, the United States traditionally when the G-20 met in June, and the has been promoting development of a has set world corn prices. And be- final communiqué was watered down corn-to-ethanol industry as a way to cause corn is one of the world’s main significantly. 24 provide both a new market for Amer- food staples, U.S. ethanol policy sig- “In the FAO, we do feel that bio- ican corn and a clean, renewable source nificantly affects world food prices, fuels policies — and export restric- of motor fuel. Between 1980 and 2000, say critics of the policy. 21 “You can’t tions — have played a part in lead- the industry received some $19 billion take 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop ing to higher and more volatile prices,” in tax breaks alone, according to the and divert it to ethanol and not ex- says David Hallam, director of FAO’s Government Accountability Office. The pect to have a price effect,” says C. markets and division. However, three major incentives have been a tax Ford Runge, a professor of applied “whether the impact of biofuels on credit to oil refiners to blend ethanol economics and law at the University prices is 15, 20 or 30 percent is diffi- into gasoline, a tariff to block cheaper of Minnesota. He estimates that up to cult to pin down.” imported ethanol (mainly from Brazil) a third of the record world food prices Bruce Babcock, an agricultural econ- and a mandate to produce enough in 2007-08 were caused by govern- omist at Iowa State University, down- ethanol to make up about 10 percent ment ethanol policies. plays the impact of biofuels subsidies of the automotive fuel supply. In some Farmers, feed companies and their — so far. Until now, he says, the sub- cases the biofuel subsidies have been supporters lobbied hard for the sidies have had only a “modest” effect so generous that on a per-gallon basis, ethanol subsidies — adopted in the on world corn prices — about 7 per- they have exceeded the total cost of 1970s and ’80s, when corn prices were cent in 2007 — and even less on U.S. the gasoline being replaced by the bio- around $2 a bushel (vs. almost $7 for retail food prices. But in 2011, world fuel. In 2010, ethanol incentives cost most of this year) and farmers were corn prices will be about 17 percent American taxpayers $7 billion in tax barely breaking even. The program higher than they would have been if credits, tariffs and other incentives. 20 was designed to boost corn prices, ethanol subsidies were eliminated, he

506 CQ Global Researcher estimates. That bigger price effect for this year, he says, is due to today’s Food Prices Soared in Past Decade tight market conditions: Ethanol is in high demand when oil prices are high World food prices have risen signi!cantly since 2000, with cereals now costing — as they are now. 25 145 percent more than the 2002-04 average and 75 percent more than the Babcock maintains that today’s high overall 2010 price. Prices for both cereals and food fell slightly in 2009, as oil prices alone give the industry plen- supplies rose, but have jumped since then. By this September prices had ty of incentive to produce, even with- exceeded their 2008 peak, when food riots erupted around the world. out government hand-outs. But would the ethanol industry even exist with- Changes in Global Food Prices, 2000 to 2011 out government mandates? Food price index (2002-04 average = 100) “If ethanol hadn’t expanded, corn 250 would have been so cheap compared to gasoline that someone would have 200 figured out, ‘My gosh, I can make a All Food fortune buying this cheap corn and 150 Cereals turning it into a substitute for gaso- line and selling it,’ ” he says. 100 Rob Vierhout, secretary-general of 50 the Brussels-based European Renew- 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Sept. able Ethanol Association (ePURE), says 2011 food export bans — such as the one Source: “FAO Food Price Index,” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Russia imposed on its wheat in 2010 Nations, October 2011, www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/wfs-home/foodpricesindex/en/ and 2011 — have done more to drive up world food prices than biofuels from corn makes either economic or Development Movement, which cam- subsidies. (See “At Issue,” p. 517.) environmental sense, but now that paigns against global poverty. 27 But Timothy D. Searchinger, a re- we have established the sector it will “Food prices at historic levels are search scholar and lecturer in public be adding another fuel to farmers’ being driven by financial speculators,” and international affairs at Princeton problems if we dismantle it overnight,” says Murray Worthy, author of the re- University’s Woodrow Wilson School, he warns. cent report for the group. “We defi- counters, “If it weren’t for biofuels, nitely think there’s much more rapid you wouldn’t have had the run-up in Are commodity speculators caus- price inflation” as a result. He says prices and the fear that made coun- ing high and volatile food prices? large index funds are most to blame. tries [like Russia] put on export con- Commodity speculators have been Since Congress deregulated the trols,” because heads of state “know blamed as the main culprits behind sky- commodities market in 2000, index that governments fall when food prices rocketing food prices by French Presi- funds for a basket of commodities have get too high.” dent Sarkozy, the U.N. special rappor- risen in popularity, especially for in- Still, if biofuel mandates and sub- teur on the right to food and EU vestors seeking a safe haven from the sidies were removed tomorrow, world Commissioner Michel Barnier, who has stock market. corn prices — and food prices in called such speculation “scandalous.” 26 Commodity markets traditionally general — would crash, say some Paradoxically, Chicago’s commodi- work on short-term futures contracts. experts. “If you were to dismantle ties markets were established to pro- When Farmer Brown plants his corn mandates overnight you would sud- vide price stability for farmers faced crop in April, he enters into a con- denly be left with over 100 million with unpredictable harvests and to large tract, with, say, General Mills, to de- tons — if not more — of grains, grain buyers, such as flour mills, seek- liver corn at $7 per bushel on Sep- which could result in a complete col- ing to nail down a price before har- tember 30, cushioning himself against lapse of world grain prices, sending vest time. Over the last 15 years, how- a possible drop in the price below $7 shock waves to farmers across the ever, participation by speculators without during that five-month period. Unlike world and bankrupticies,” warns FAO any role in farming or food processing farmers and grain buyers, pension funds economist Abbassian. has risen from just 12 percent of the tend to be in the market for long-term “The kinds of things I see do not market to 60 percent today, according gains; so each time a short-term con- justify to me that making biofuels to the London-based activist group World tract expires the funds buy a new one.

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Critics say index funds encourage a position limit regulations are poten- and author of a new book Endless speculative environment independent of tially very destructive of the U.S. mar- Appetites: How the Commodities Casi- the traditional market “fundamentals,” such kets. I don’t think there’s any evidence no Creates Hunger and Unrest. as the size of the corn harvest or how that driving these people out of the Historically, he points out, the value much market demand exists for a crop. market is a good thing.” of corn has been based on the num- “You have a pension fund that buys University of Massachusetts Profes- ber of people who need to eat it. Now, into commodities and wants to hold sor of Economics Robert Pollin, who he says, it’s based on what “these in- the portfolio for 5-10 years, and every has testified in favor of speculation vestors need to save for their retirement. month they have to re-buy the con- limits, agrees speculators can play a The meaning of corn has changed.” tract just to keep their bets on the useful insurance role for farmers — table,” says David Frank, research di- but only up to a point. The more the Can farmers meet increasing de- rector of Better Markets, a nonprofit commodities market starts to look like mands for food at affordable group in Washington that advocates the financial markets, the more trou- prices? stricter regulation of commodities. “Since ble he sees ahead. Over 200,000 people will sit down everyone else in the marketplace knows Such markets “are easily overtaken to dinner tonight who weren’t there last they have to buy these contracts [each by speculative bubbles, and that’s what night, and many will be facing empty month], it basically pushes up the prices we’re witnessing now,” he says. “We’ve plates. That’s how environmental ac- synthetically in advance of the pension- turned the commodities market into a tivist Brown describes the inexorable fund buying. So you see this long-term securities market vulnerable to the forces rise in the planet’s population. 29 upward creep of prices.” of psychology and bubble speculation.” World population growth is expected The monthly buying and selling of A blizzard of academic and indus- to increase the demand for food by contracts creates a volatile, “whipsaw ef- try papers debating speculators’ impact 70-100 percent by 2050, according to fect” on prices, destroying farmers’ and on food prices has left even FAO ex- the FAO. 30 To meet that demand at grain buyers’ ability to plan, according perts somewhat bewildered. So far the affordable prices, farmers would need to Frank and other critics. Congress studies are “giving us completely inde- to boost the number of bushels they bought their argument when it passed cisive results as to who is at fault here,” harvest per acre, something they’ve the Wall Street reform act, which limits says FAO economist Abbassian. been able to do since modern farm- the share of a market that can be held “We don’t feel what people call ing techniques were introduced dur- by either individual speculators or by a speculation is the root cause of the ing the Green Revolution of the 1950s class of speculators. Those caps are price movements we’ve seen,” but it and ’60s. (See “Background,” p. 512.) known as “position limits.” does cause more short-term swings But those near-miraculous jumps in Kenneth Raisler, general counsel of and exaggerated short-term price hikes, annual yields in the ’50s and ’60s were the Commodity Futures Trading Com- says the FAO’s Hallam. significantly smaller by the 1990s. “The mission (CFTC) during the Reagan ad- As a result, Abbassian says, the G-20’s miracle of the Green Revolution has ministration, says concern about spec- next step “is not about regulation; it’s been slowly running out of gas for ulation is based on a misunderstanding about knowing more about what goes the last few years,” says environmen- of the market. The commodities mar- on in that market and how the market tal scientist Foley. ket has always relied on speculators actors benefit from all these derivatives.” On a global basis, Foley calculates, to play a useful role — assuring farm- The G-20 is developing an expanded crop yields have only grown about 20 ers of future revenues by agreeing to information system showing who is percent in the past two decades — far buy the actual crop, for example. And trading what in the market — copied from the galloping increases needed to commodities investments are time-lim- from U.S. legislation. double production by mid-century. ited, Raisler says, because the con- In recent years, as pension funds The Earth Policy Institute’s Brown, tracts have an expiration date. So com- and others invested dollars on a scale an agricultural scientist by training, is modities investments can’t be exerting never seen before, commodities pessimistic about the potential to in- the long-term upward pressure on index fund holdings swelled from crease fertility per acre. In Japan, rice prices that critics describe, he says. $13 billion in 2003 to $317 billion in yields have been flat for 14 years; and “It is fair to say that the CFTC’s ini- 2008. 28 “Your retirement fund dol- a similar plateau is found in wheat tiative around position limits and Con- lars are helping to make decisions yields in Europe. 31 gress’ discussion was built on misin- that affect the world’s poorest peo- “Farmers have caught up with sci- formation and the political impact of ple,” says Alan Bjerga, an agricultur- ence,” he says. “We may be beginning the information,” he says. “I think the al policy reporter for Bloomberg News to press against the limits of science.”

508 CQ Global Researcher At the optimistic end of the spec- trum, the seed company Monsanto Food Prices Skyrocketed in Past Year has pledged by 2030 to double corn Prices for many food commodities, including maize, sugar and wheat, have and yields from 2000 levels. The challenge looks daunting. If increased by 50 percent or more over the past year — rising even more than yields don’t improve, the company the price of crude oil. The price of maize, a primary ingredient in ethanol as projects, 300 million acres of addi- well as a staple in developing countries, nearly doubled as growers began tional farmland will need to be brought diverting more of it to biofuels production. into production by that year to keep up with demand. 32 Price Increases of Key Commodities, July 2010-July 2011 Monsanto says it can fulfill its pledge (percentage increase) through a combination of better farm 100% management and advanced biotech- 84% nology techniques. 80 Economist Philip G. Pardey, direc- 62% 60 55% tor of the University of Minnesota’s In- 47% 45% ternational Science and Technology 40 Practice and Policy Center, also says 21% it’s “questionable” whether farmers can 20 satisfy the world’s food needs by mid- 0 century. Yet he says it’s not a techni- Maize Rice Wheat Sugar Soybean oil Crude oil cal constraint but a policy problem — (yellow corn) (Thai, (U.S. hard the U.S. government has been ratch- 5% broken) red winter) eting down spending on agricultural research over the past three decades Source: “Food Price Watch,” World Bank, August 2011, siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPOVERTY/ — from 4 percent annual growth in News and Events/22982477/Food-Price-Watch-August-2011.htm the ’60s to less than 1 percent today. “When you spend money on re- Some scientists worry about how to er areas of the world could benefit search and development, it takes grow food on a climate-challenged plan- from increased temperatures. But the decades for that technology to be et with rising temperatures and dwin- models don’t take into account the vast commercialized and find its way to dling rainfall. Most of the water humans expense of irrigation that would be farmers’ fields; so slowdowns in spend- draw from rivers and aquifers already needed if weather got drier, says Wol- ing in the late 1960s, ’70s and ’80s is being used for irrigation, and much fram Schlenker, an economist at the started to show up in the ’90s as a of that has been contaminated with fer- School of International and Public Af- slowdown in productivity growth,” tilizers, herbicides and pesticides. fairs at Columbia University in New Pardey says. Rising temperatures could mean York City. “If it gets warmer, and Iowa “If research is slowing down here fewer or no crops in many areas. Each gets more like Mississippi and less like in the U.S., it has a direct impact on 1-degree Celsius rise in temperature California, it’s unambiguously not a global food and feed supplies,” he con- above the optimum during the grow- benefit,” he says. “The biggest chal- tinues, because as the largest exporter ing season will mean about a 10 per- lenge we have, if you talk to breed- of corn and wheat and the third largest cent decline in grain yields at harvest- ers like Monsanto, is we need to re- exporter of soybeans, the United States time, Brown estimates. 34 duce plant sensitivity to extreme heat. dominates global agriculture. 33 “We’re moving into a more unstable But . . . we haven’t seen it happen- On a global basis, agricultural period,” says University of Nebraska ing in the past.” spending will need to increase by agronomist Francis. “We’ve got a huge Could the answer come from new about $85 billion per year to meet global population dependent on benign breeds of plants born of biotechnology? the growing demand, the FAO has es- climate, good agricultural conditions plus Francis doesn’t think so. Genetic modi- timated. “It’s an interesting question exploitation of fossil fuels, and we’re fication, he says, has been “vastly where that will come from, [since] we heading into a whole new territory with overblown.” 35 see spending on agriculture R&D de- limited fossil fuels, limited fresh water.” “It’s not going to solve the world’s clining in most countries,” says FAO Some forecasting models have sug- food problems and has done nothing economist Hallam. gested that growing conditions in cool- to push up yield potential so far,” he

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says, while acknowledging that biotech’s of contracts a speculator could hold, pest-resistant, herbicide-resistant vari- and the Commodity Futures Trading eties have helped some farmers with BACKGROUND Commission, the market’s regulatory weed and insect problems. agency, was created in 1974. Food experts like Hallam say most In 1991, a commodities trader at of the increased production will have Investing in Food came up with the idea to come from the least productive farms of creating an index that would track in places like Africa, Central America n the 1930s, North America was a small prices for a “basket” of commodities, and Eastern Europe — where yields Igrain exporter. By 1966, North Amer- allowing the buyers of the so-called are far below their theoretical poten- ican grain exports had increased twelve- index fund to speculate. But the fund tial and could be boosted with better fold — to nearly 60 million tons. 39 As was limited in how much trading it seeds, more fertilizer and irrigation. In the continent became the global center could do because of speculative lim- his forthcoming article in Scientific of the grain , changes in U.S. pro- its dating back to 1936. Goldman American, Foley estimates that clos- duction would have huge impacts on in- asked the CFTC for an exemption from ing this gap for the world’s top 16 ternational prices and food supply. 40 the limits, and the agency, controlled crops could increase total food pro- Columbia University economist by free-market advocates appointed by duction by 50 to 60 percent. 36 Schlenker compares America’s domi- President George H. W. Bush, agreed. But some agronomists are skepti- nance in the world food market to Saudi In 2000, the Commodity Futures Mod- cal that Western technology and its Arabia’s outsized influence on global oil ernization Act, passed by Congress at the promise of fantastic yields are always markets. Yet Saudi Arabia only produces end of the Clinton administration, ex- transferable to places with different about 8 percent of the world’s oil, while empted most over-the-counter derivatives soil conditions and weather. Francis the United States produces almost a — contracts negotiated between two par- advocates shifting to a local approach, quarter of the four grains that provide ties — from the CFTC’s oversight. using home-grown techniques and 75 percent of the world’s calories: corn, Trading soared. The number of fu- fewer fossil fuels. (See sidebar on sus- wheat, rice and soybeans. 41 tures and options traded on commodity tainable agriculture, p. 512.) “So the United States is really dri- exchanges quintupled between 2002 Although agricultural production ving the market globally,” he says. and 2008. 43 could be boosted by clearing more America eventually came to dominate Commodities looked increasingly at- land and using more water or chem- the world grain market — rather than tractive to pension funds, hedge funds icals, the planet can’t take much more even bigger 19th-century grain produc- and portfolio managers because other of that kind of degradation, say ex- ers like the Ukraine — thanks to its rail- markets were drying up: The dot.com perts like Foley. Agriculture is the road and canal transportation system. bubble had burst, the stock market largest single source of climate-altering The creation of a permanent futures plunged soon after and the U.S. hous- greenhouse gas emissions, mostly be- exchange in 1874 — the Chicago Pro- ing market collapsed in 2007-08 when cause expanding farming destroys duce Exchange, the forerunner of today’s the subprime crisis hit. 44 And, as U.N. tropical rain forests. Methane released Chicago Mercantile Exchange — came Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivi- from animals and nitrous oxide from in the wake of wild fluctuation in the er de Schutter has described it, the overfertilized soils also contribute car- prices of wheat, partly as a result of growing attraction to commodities as bon emissions. 37 the Civil War. It created a way for a sound investments can be explained Foley and an international team of farmer to hedge against poor prices at by the simple belief that people “will experts have developed a five-point harvest by setting a good price in a always have to eat.” 45 plan that he says would meet the plan- “forward contract” for the date of de- Yet as the market grew, commodity et’s food needs by mid-century with- livery. The merchant who sold him the prices appeared to some experts to be out degrading the environment. 38 Some contract hoped the market price on the increasingly divorced from market fun- of the proposals, such as using irri- delivery date would be higher, leaving damentals of supply and demand. gation more efficiently and reducing him with a profit. 42 “Over the years of deregulation, we’ve food waste, are not controversial. But Over the years, as speculators were established a virtual market out there, others, like eating less meat or halt- accused periodically of manipulating and farmers are getting frustrated when ing the clearing of forests for farm- the commodities market, several laws they see [commodity price] changes are land, will be a hard sell, especially as were passed to regulate the industry. not always reflecting the actual funda- more of the world’s people can afford The Commodities Exchange Act of mentals,” FAO economist Abbassian says. a good steak. 1936, for instance, limited the number Continued on p. 512

510 CQ Global Researcher Chronology

2007-2008 1940s Rockefeller 1980s United States World food prices hit record high Foundation begins funding and Europe have food surplus- due to rising energy costs, falling crop research in Mexico that es; world corn prices hit record grain stocks. Food riots break out will evolve into a worldwide lows; ethanol incentives gain in 60 countries. Green Revolution. traction in United States. • 1944 • American agronomist Norman Borlaug teaches modern techniques to Mexi- 2010s Arab Spring can farmers, boosting wheat crops 1990s Market reforms revolutions follow spike in and launching Green Revolution. after collapse of Soviet Union food prices. . . . Congress im- help reduce Russia’s need for poses curbs on commodities • grain imports. . . . New specu- speculation. . . . Ethanol pro- lators enter U.S. food commodi- duction absorbs 40 percent of ties markets; share of world’s U.S. corn crop. 1950s-1970s hungry declines. China’s collective farming exper- 2010 iment fails disastrously. Green 1991 After worst drought in a century, Revolution boosts crop yields in U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs Russia bans wheat exports. . . . developing countries. . . . United creates first index fund to track bas- Bread prices surge in Egypt, Rus- States becomes major grain ex- ket of commodities. . . . Soviet sia’s largest wheat customer. . . . porter; China reintroduces fami- Union disbands on Dec. 31, 1991. President Obama signs Dodd- ly farming; Soviets expand live- Frank bill curbing speculation in stock production, boost grain 1998 commodities market. imports; Brazil improves its Russia becomes net exporter of grasslands. wheat for first time in quarter-century. Jan. 4, 2011 Street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi 1959-61 • dies after setting himself on fire in Collective farming in China causes protest, spurring revolution in deaths of 30 million Chinese due to Tunisia. famine. 2000s World food prices spike to record highs Jan. 25, 2011 1972-74 twice, triggering riots in 2008. Street demonstrations spread to World food prices hit record highs . . . Congress deregulates com- Egypt, partly in response to high after Soviet Union buys record modity trading. . . . Russia be- food prices, leading to overthrow amounts of U.S. wheat. comes major wheat exporter. of President Hosni Mubarak. . . . Protests and demonstrations break 1973 2000 out throughout the Middle East. Arab oil embargo contributes to ris- Congress exempts most over-the- ing food prices as farmers’ costs of counter derivatives contracts from February 2011 oil-based fertilizer, fuel skyrocket. government oversight; commodities World food prices hit all-time high trading soars. and then decline only slightly. 1975-76 Brazil launches its program to make 2006 Nov. 3-4, 2011 ethanol from sugarcane, mandating United States passes Brazil as world’s G-20 nations scheduled to meet in that it be blended with gasoline to leading producer of ethanol. Cannes, France; commodity- power a fuel-flexible auto fleet. speculation measures are on 2007 agenda. 1978 U.S. Congress mandates a tripling U.S. Congress exempts ethanol in production of renewable biofuels from gasoline taxes. by 2022.

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Continued from p. 510 yields by bringing modern farming tech- Luckily, the Green Revolution niques, such as fertilizers and irrigation, emerged in Asia just before the 1972- Green Revolution to South America and Asia. 74 world food crisis. The continent — Wheat varieties dependent on fer- by then enjoying bigger local harvests n 1944, an American agronomist, tilizer, like those that had been suc- — was protected from the worst im- INorman E. Borlaug, went to Mexi- cessful in Mexico, were introduced in pacts of the price hikes. 47 co to help farmers boost their wheat the early 1960s in India and Pakistan, By the 1990s, nearly 75 percent of crop under a partnership between the tripling yields there. The success with the rice grown in Asia came from Green Rockefeller Foundation and the Mex- wheat was soon repeated with rice. Revolution seeds, along with about half ican government. The wheat varieties The semidwarf rice variety IR8, de- the wheat planted in Africa, Latin Amer- introduced by Borlaug doubled yields veloped by the International Rice Re- ica and Asia and about 70 percent of in Mexico, and Borlaug’s efforts soon search Institute in the Philippines, tripled the world’s corn. 48 became a worldwide movement, later the tons per acre harvested in India Meanwhile in China, agricultural pro- dubbed the Green Revolution. between 1961 and 1970 and turned ductivity began to improve in the Borlaug, who received the Nobel Peace India into one of the world’s leading 1970s after the government made major Prize for his work in 1970, became known rice producers. The high-yielding “mir- policy changes and adopted techno- as the father of the Green Revolution, acle rice” was credited with saving mil- logical innovations. Between 1978 and widely acknowledged for boosting crop lions from famine. 46 1984, the Chinese Communist Party Can Ecological Farming Feed the World? Ancient techniques are replacing conventional methods.

hirty women gathered under a shade tree in the Malawi spread famine — a result of climate change-induced droughts, village of Koboko to answer questions from an Ameri- a dearth of animal manure and farmers’ inability to allow some Tcan visitor about the biggest problem they face in pro- fields to lie fallow and replenish themselves. The farmers say ducing enough food to feed their children. they must farm all their land every year just to survive. The answer was surprising to consultant Roland Bunch, a Instead of chemical fertilizers, agroecologists use cultivation prominent advocate of ecological farming practices. He was ex- methods dating back to the Roman Empire, such as “green ma- pecting to hear about the devastating droughts that had re- nuring” — planting a variety of crops together and leaving duced people in Malawi to eating tree bark. some to rot on the soil’s surface after harvest — and planting “Our soil is tired out. And it’s getting worse every year,” trees on cropland to provide cooling shade and fallen leaves said one of the women. Soon others chimed in. “Our soil has that rot into organic matter. become so hard that even when it rains, the water just runs In West Africa’s arid Mali, for example, the cliff-dwelling off.” Despite enough rain, one woman said she harvested only Dogon ethnic group have tripled their millet output per acre 27 bags of corn, compared to 35 the previous year. 1 by interspersing cowpea legume plants, which add to soil fer- Over the following year, Bunch heard the same story in five tility, with their millet and having herders bring their cattle in other African countries — Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Mali and to stay overnight in the fields, leaving behind their manure. Niger: Harvests were crashing, dropping 15 to 25 percent a Green manure cover crops are being used by more than a year. Whole villages had been compelled to move in search million farmers worldwide, mostly in Central and South America. of more fertile land; some were turned back by force at the Brazil is integrating trees, crops and livestock in the same fields borders by police. as part of its strategy to boost its already impressive agricultural Droughts and depleted soil are affecting much of eastern yields on once infertile grasslands. 2 Africa, producing famine in Somalia and near-famine in Ethiopia. However, some critics say, despite reports of improvements Some international organizations recommend providing either for small-scale farmers like the Dogon, organic farming meth- free or subsidized chemical fertilizers, since a bag of fertilizer ods produce less food per acre than the Midwest’s large-scale is unaffordable for most small farmers. But as a leading pro- conventional farms, with their heavy dependence on artificial ponent of agroecology — a farming philosophy that focuses fertilizer. Adherents of organic farming answer that no large- on protecting the environment — Bunch says chemical fertil- scale comparative studies have been done to answer the ques- izers won’t solve the underlying problem: the loss of organic tion scientifically. Yet even those sympathetic to organic farm- matter that makes soils fertile. ing say it can’t meet the planet’s need to double food production Loss of soil nutrients, he warns, threatens to cause wide- in the next 40 years.

512 CQ Global Researcher “You can’t feed the world on organic broccoli,” says — are becoming unsustainable in major food-producing areas Jonathan A. Foley, a climate scientist and director of the Uni- like India’s northwestern Punjab region, northern Mexico and versity of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment, noting that Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, where they are depleting and pollut- organic farming contributes less than 1 percent of today’s agri- ing groundwater, and pests and diseases are becoming resis- cultural production. tant to chemical controls. 4 However, advocates of ecological agriculture point out, most “We don’t want to drink all that stuff in the water and eat of the world’s farmland is cultivated by small farmers — not all that pesticide residue on food,” Francis says. the agribusiness companies that account for most internation- But an international team headed by Foley proposes that al trade. In addition, only 10 percent of the world’s food is in order to double global food production by 2050, when the traded internationally, so low-cost ecological methods hold the world population is expected to reach 9 billion, both approaches most promise for improving small farms and local sustenance, will be necessary. Ecological practices will have to be incor- they contend. porated into large-scale farming in order to boost yields while In a study of 286 projects in 57 developing countries that still protecting the environment. 5 practiced some form of agroecology, Jules Pretty, an environ- “Organic” is a feel-good label, but it doesn’t necessarily tell ment professor at England’s University of Essex, found crop you whether the farmer used water wisely or fostered biodi- yields improved 79 percent, on average, over previous farming versity, Foley observes. The warring schools of organic and practices. 3 conventional farming, “need to put down our guns,” he says. 6 Increasingly, as fertilizer gets more expensive, even large- “We don’t have time for that anymore.” scale Midwestern farms are practicing “no-tillage” methods — leaving crop waste behind to rot in the fields and replenish — Sarah Glazer organic matter — and using satellite navigation to help spread fertilizer more efficiently and avoid wasteful double-dumping. 1 Roland Bunch, “Africa’s Soil Fertility Crisis and the Coming Famine,” in But acroecologists say even more radical change is required. “State of the World 2011,” Worldwatch Institute, 2011, p. 59. 2 Ibid., p. 68. For Brazil, see “The Miracle of the Cerrado,” The Economist, “What we need now is more locally specific systems, unique to Aug. 26, 2010, www.economist.com/node/16886442. each place and environment — not the quick-fix menu offered 3 Worldwatch Institute, op. cit., p. 20. by agribusiness out to sell products and not to feed the world,” 4 Ibid., p. 23. says Charles A. Francis, a visiting professor of agroecology at the 5 Jonathan A. Foley, et al., “Solutions for a Cultivated Planet,” Nature, Oct. 12, Norwegian University of Life Sciences outside Oslo. 2011, www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature10452.html. 6 Many conventional farming techniques — such as those in- For background, see Kathy Koch, “Food Safety Battle: Organic Vs. Biotech,” CQ Researcher, Sept. 4, 1998, pp. 761-784. troduced during the Green Revolution in the 1960s and ’70s adopted economic reforms and rein- proximately 160 million households, landowner farming class and together troduced family farming. After more increasing rural incomes by 137 per- with mass shipment of foodstuffs out of than 30 years of collective agriculture, cent, reducing rural poverty by 22 per- Ukraine to the Soviet Union resulted in small farmers were allowed to grow cent and increasing grain production the starvation deaths of 7 to 11 million their own food and market their sur- by 34 percent. 50 Ukrainians in the 1930s. 51 plus. (This was an ideological rever- Russia’s shift from wheat importer In the 1960s and ’70s, Soviet lead- sal from Mao Zedong’s disastrous to leading wheat exporter also was ers Nikita Khruschev and Leonid Brezh- Great Leap Forward, which aimed to shaped by its transition from a com- nev decided to improve the Soviet stan- increase industrial production by di- munist regime to a market economy, dard of living by increasing the verting thousands of peasants from beginning in the early 1990s. population’s consumption of meat and private farms to factory work and con- In the 19th century, the Russian Em- dairy products. To achieve this, the verting their farmland to collective farm- pire was the world’s major wheat ex- Brezhnev regime invested in large-scale ing operations. Harvests plummeted, porter thanks to a rich vein of black livestock production and kept Soviet leading eventually to the great famine earth stretching through the Ukraine, retail prices for meat virtually constant of 1959-61, which left an estimated Russia and southwest Siberia. Commu- from the mid-1960s to 1990. 30 million dead.) 49 nism radically undermined that, howev- But, initially, the Soviet Union could The reforms returned more than er. Josef Stalin’s forced collectivization of not produce enough grain to support 95 percent of China’s farmland to ap- farms in the Ukraine destroyed the its growing livestock herds. In 1972-73,

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pasturing livestock. The area now ac- Governments Set Biofuels Targets counts for 70 percent of Brazil’s agri- cultural production. Brazil also cross- Of!cials around the world are setting targets — some of them mandatory — bred soybeans, turning the traditionally for the use of renewable biofuels in transportation fuels. Some have speci!ed temperate climate plant into a tropi- a percentage of transportation fuels that should come from renewable fuels, cal crop. Recently, Brazilians have in- while others established the number of gallons or tons to be produced. India troduced some of the methods pushed wants 20 percent of transport fuels to come from biofuels by 2017, for by ecologists, such as growing trees instance, while the United States wants 36 billion gallons of biofuels produced between crop fields and “no-tillage by 2022 — the highest amount by far of any country. Diverting cropland to farming,” which leaves the husks of harvested crops to rot in the field to grow biofuels plants boosts food prices, critics say, but proponents say biofuels 57 use only 5 percent of the world’s food crops so they have only a “modest” create fertile organic matter. effect on prices. Biofuels Targets in Selected Countries From Surplus to Shortage (as % of transport fuels or total volume to be produced) n recent history in the United States, Country Biofuel target Ioverproduction was the perennial European Union 10% by 2020 “farm problem.” From the days of the South Africa 4.5% by 2013 Great Depression until the 1980s, Amer- India 20% by 2017 ican farmers experienced chronic sur- pluses and depressed prices, especially Brazil 25% (of gasoline) and 5% (of diesel) by 2010 in wheat. To prop up prices, the fed- Canada 5% (of gasoline) by 2010; 2% (of diesel) by 2012 eral government bought surplus crops China 9.8 million tons (of ethanol) and 2 million tons (of biodiesel) by 2020 and stored them or exported them as Japan 132 million gallons by 2010 food aid to famine-stricken countries. United States 36 billion gallons by 2022 But by the 1970s, the government had found storing large stocks of sur- Source: “Meals Per Gallon: The Impact of Industrial Biofuels on People and Global Hunger,” plus grain too expensive and took steps ActionAid, January 2010, www.actionaid.org.uk/doc_lib/meals_per_gallon_!nal.pdf to reduce the surpluses. Grain reserves plummeted. As a result, even minor to make up for its own poor grain crop, first time in a quarter-century and re- shocks to supply and demand could the Soviet Union secretly bought up mained a leading exporter through the lead to dramatic price hikes. most U.S. wheat exports at bargain prices 2000s. 54 By 2008-09, Russia was ex- Then harsh weather in 1972 and — and even got American taxpayers to porting all grains and was a major play- 1974, together with the massive grain foot part of the bill through a farm sub- er in agricultural markets. 55 purchases by the Soviet Union, creat- sidy. The so-called Great Grain Robbery Meanwhile, over the past 30 years ed record spikes in world food prices. sent world grain prices skyrocketing, and Brazil has transformed itself from a Two other events helped contribute U.S. food prices jumped 18 percent. 52 net food importer to one of the world’s to a perfect storm for world food By the 1980s, the Soviets were the great breadbaskets. Since 1996, it has prices in the early 1970s. In 1971 Pres- world’s largest grain importers, much increased its agricultural output ten- ident Richard M. Nixon devalued the of it feed grain and soybeans from the fold and now accounts for one-third dollar by taking it off the gold stan- United States. of the world’s soybean exports, sec- dard, making U.S. grain exports rela- The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ond only to the United States. Its agri- tively cheap. World demand for Amer- and after the Russian Federation adopt- cultural trade surplus has increased ican grain skyrocketed, and its price ed market-oriented reforms in 1992 real tenfold over the past decade, to more rose in response. 58 Then, in 1973 the wages fell and meat demand plummeted. than $50 billion. 56 Arab oil embargo caused world oil Subsidies to livestock farmers were Brazil used huge amounts of lime prices to skyrocket, causing general abruptly halted, contributing to the falling to reduce the acidity of the soil in its price inflation and increasing farmers’ demand for feed grain. 53 vast savannah grasslands, known as costs for petroleum-based fertilizer and By 1998, however, Russia had be- the cerrado, and brought in high- transportation. come a net exporter of wheat for the yielding grasses to make it good for

514 CQ Global Researcher velopment to developing nations fell 2011. Wheat reached more than $8 a Surpluses and Low Prices by almost half. 63 bushel — its highest price since 2008 — Although yields per acre continued on the Chicago exchange. s more and more countries adopt- to grow, advances came at a much The following month in Mozambique, Aed high-yield Green Revolution seeds slower rate. The slowdown in spend- where domestic wheat production cov- and farming techniques in the 1980s, ing occurred just as affluence in Asia ers only 5 percent of the country’s needs, food became plentiful and production began to rise, which would lead to the cost for a sack of flour jumped 30 grew faster than population growth. World more consumption of meat and grains. percent in one month. Protests erupt- food prices declined steadily in real terms. “Our mindset was surpluses,” ex- ed into riots, injuring 443 and killing Most people assumed food would al- plained Dan Glickman, former U.S. sec- 13, and forcing the government to re- ways be cheap, and many countries retary of agriculture. “That just changed verse a hike in bread prices. 68 were lulled into depending on imports overnight.” 64 By December 2010, the FAO an- because they were a low-cost way of nounced, food prices had surpassed satisfying domestic food needs. By the their 2008 peak. end of the 1990s, the share of the world’s Prices Spike That same month, vegetable seller population that was hungry would fall Bouazizi set himself on fire in Tunisia, from a third to 20 percent. 59 ith grain stockpiles low, prices a country that imports twice as much But cheap food was not good for Wdoubled and in some cases tripled food as it produces. Food prices were American farmers. By the 1980s, corn in 2007 and 2008. Once again (as in rising, and one-third of the work force prices were at record lows; a bushel the 1970s) rising oil prices raised farm- was unemployed. Although Bouazizi’s of corn lost about one-fifth of its value ers’ production costs, and a growing act of self-immolation was to protest over that decade. 60 Farm foreclosures source of demand — biofuels — both police harassment, his burning in mid- proliferated throughout the Midwest reduced supplies and helped link the December and his death on Jan. 4 trig- as farmers found it hard to break even price of food even closer to rising fuel gered massive street protests that grew — despite the helping hand of gov- prices. Export restrictions and bad out of frustration over rising food prices, ernment subsidies. weather also contributed. 65 the lack of jobs and dissatisfaction with “Sometimes that was all your prof- Entire countries began hoarding the government of President Zine El it,” says Boyd Smith, a farmer and farm food, and panic buying ensued, no- Abidine Ben Ali. Barely 10 days after manager in Lincoln, Neb. “A lot of tably for rice. Food riots broke out in the vegetable seller’s death, Ben Ali fled times if your government payment was more than 60 countries, including Egypt, on Jan. 15, and the government fell. $20,000, that was your profit for the Haiti and Cameroon. 66 Meanwhile, Egypt, Russia’s largest year. It was hard to make any money. In 2009, following the price spikes that customer, was forced to buy more ex- . . . We were lucky to sell corn for began in 2007, an estimated 1 billion peo- pensive American wheat after Russia $2 per bushel,” he recalls, compared to ple went hungry for the first time. banned wheat exports. The resulting the $7 price reached earlier this year. 61 Farmers responded to the higher spike in Egyptian food prices helped The strategy in the United States prices by planting as much as they to spur the Jan. 25, 2011, uprising that was to make “more production not could, and healthy harvests in 2008 would overthrow the regime in Egypt higher prices the key to farmer in- and 2009 helped to rebuild stocks. and trigger similar demonstrations and come,” writes Bjerga in his new book World prices declined in 2009, partly protests across the Arab World. Endless Appetites. 62 in response to the recession. With each year, farmers like Smith Last year, the U.S. Department of Agri- were able to increase the number of culture predicted Russia would soon over- bushels per acre through Green Rev- take the United States as the world’s top olution techniques. Lulled by these CURRENT wheat exporter by the 2010s because trends, governments began to cut back American farmers were shifting out of on agricultural research and develop- wheat to more profitable corn and soy- SITUATION ment (R&D). Growth in U.S. agricul- beans. 67 But the department didn’t count tural R&D slowed from almost 4 per- on the disastrous drought that hit Russia cent per year in the 1960s and ’70s in mid-June 2010 and reduced its wheat Crisis Averted? to less than 1 percent today, accord- crop by one-third. By Aug. 5, Russia had ing to the University of Minnesota’s banned exports of wheat, barley, rye, corn lthough world food prices have Pardey. Western aid for agricultural de- and flour and then extended the ban into A dropped slightly since their all-

www.globalresearcher.com Oct. 18, 2011 515 RISING FOOD PRICES

High Food Prices Partly to Blame for African Hunger It’s not the “absence of food” but the price of it.

parse rains in East Africa have caused disastrous harvests and massive loss of livestock. The devastating drought has Scombined with skyrocketing food prices to create one of the world’s worst hunger crises in decades, according to Save the Children, an independent global charity. In Somalia, famine and ongoing civil conflict this year have forced tens of thousands of people to cross into neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya, further swelling already crowded refugee camps. 1 More than 12 million people are estimated to need humanitarian assistance in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Dji- bouti, according to the U.N. By June prices for staples like corn had risen by as much e l l

as 107 percent over a year ago, according to the World Bank, u d

due largely to low grain stocks, coupled with export restric- b A 2 d

tions imposed by Ethiopia and Tanzania. i h s

When staple prices jumped in May and June, it wasn’t a r u

because a “complete absence of food” was causing wide- d b

spread hunger but the high cost of food in the markets, says A / s

Michael Klosson, Save the Children’s vice president for pol- e g a

icy and humanitarian response, who recently returned from m I

y

Ethiopia. “When you’ve got to feed your family, what do you t t do? You often substitute less nutritious food,” he says, lead- e G / P

ing to malnutrition for the next generation. It also hurts chil- F dren in other ways. A A severely malnourished child from southern Somalia is one of an “Families have to spend so much on food, they forego health estimated 12 million people in the Horn of Africa who need care,” he continues. “Kids are pulled out of schools because humanitarian assistance, according to the U.N. families can’t afford the fees and uniforms. Frequently kids have Skyrocketing food prices have contributed to one of the to go to work in situations that put them at risk.” worst hunger crises in decades in the region. Higher prices may be good for U.S. farmers, Klosson says, but in East Africa, “typically small shareholder families are not 1 For background, see Jason McLure, “The Troubled Horn of Africa,” CQ self-sufficient. They still have to buy food. It’s not a win for Global Researcher, June 1, 2009, pp. 149-176. them if food prices are going up.” 2 World Bank, “Food Price Watch,” August 2011, http://siteresources.world — Sarah Glazer bank.org/INTPOVERTY/News%20and%20Events/22982477/Food-Price-Watch- August-2011.htm#note5. time high in February, they remain above 2011-12 season to be again one of quite — Cambodia, Egypt and China — is the record prices reached during the strong price instability.” The organiza- looking better than expected, he says. 2008 crisis, according to the FAO. 69 tion had hoped for a 4 percent rise in “And that gives me a certain degree In the wake of export bans and global production to rebuild stocks but of confidence in saying the likelihood disturbingly low global grain stocks, is now projecting only 3 percent growth, of a crisis in 2011-12 is probably less some experts — including FAO grain Abbassian says. than we had in 2010-11,” Abbassian says. expert Abbassian — were warning at Whether a crisis develops, Abbass- Although the Dodd-Frank legisla- the beginning of the summer grow- ian says, depends partly on how much tion enacted last year was designed ing season that the 2008 disaster could corn is produced in the United States, to curb commodities speculation, at- be repeated. and the Agriculture Department re- tention now is focused on how ag- “We have relatively good produc- cently revised estimates downward be- gressive the Commodity Futures Trad- tion, globally speaking, but not good cause of severe droughts in Texas and ing Commission will be when it writes enough to build inventories,” Abbass- parts of the Midwest. Rice production the regulations to enforce the law. ian says. “As a result, we expect the in three big rice-producing countries Continued on p. 518

516 CQ Global Researcher At Issue:

Areyes government biofuels incentives boosting food prices?

MARIE BRILL ROB VIERHOUT SENIOR POLICY ANALYST, SECRETARY-GENERAL ANDERS DAHLBECK EUROPEAN RENEWABLE ETHANOL EUROPEAN CAMPAIGNS ASSOCIATION (EPURE) COORDINATOR, ACTIONAID INTERNATIONAL WRITTEN FOR CQ GLOBAL RESEARCHER, OCTOBER 2011 WRITTEN FOR CQ GLOBAL RESEARCHER, OCTOBER 2011 n 2008 record high food prices triggered riots in some iots erupted and 100 million people fell into extreme parts of the world. At the same time, biofuels production poverty during the 2008 food crisis; last year another i increased, a sector that depends on policy supports to level r 44 million people joined them. The World Bank says the playing field with fossil fuels. biofuels account for 30 percent of the spikes in food prices, Certain groups were quick to blame the biofuels industry and new research blames government biofuel incentives as a for condemning millions of people around the globe to starva- contributing factor. tion. Do away with biofuels incentives, and nobody has to go Global biofuels production has been driven largely by U.S. hungry, was the tune of the day. and European Union (EU) government incentives. EU blending But such thinking overlooks the fact that hunger is, unfor- mandates and financial incentives mean that about 9 percent of tunately, not a recent phenomenon. We have seen famine in transport fuel will come from biofuels such as ethanol, biodiesel years where not a single drop of biofuel was produced. and biomass by 2020 — more than triple current levels. In 2009 commodity prices fell back to almost pre-peak Unable to meet this higher demand from domestic produc- (2008) levels. But biofuels production continued to increase, tion, the EU yimports biofueels, primarily fsrom Brazil, but increas- demonstrating nclearly that biofueols did not have a hand in ingly from Africa and Asia, where biofuel production often com- the recent commodity price increases, or at least not the petes with food production. That generates food insecurity and strong one that some interest groups wanted to make us helps reduce the global supply of arable land available for believe. growing food. European biofuel production also risks diverting While increased biofuel production induces an additional to developing countries the production of food for European demand for the raw materials used to make biofuels, this consumers, putting further pressure on land and food supply. link is generally both oversimplified and overestimated. It’s Corn ethanol consumes 75 percent of U.S. federal renew- oversimplified, because the industry is wrongly portrayed as able fuel dollars, benefiting from mandates, subsidies and a producing only fuel, when in reality biofuel refineries yield tariff on imports of foreign biofuel ingredients. This “incentive many different high-value products that benefit the food cocktail” inspired farmers to increase corn planting for ethanol. chain. Co-products include, among others, protein-rich animal Today the United States burns 40 percent of its corn for fuel, feed, food ingredients and carbon dioxide to carbonate more than is used for animal feed or human consumption. drinks and improve horticultural practices. American farmers are planting more corn, but weather shocks The link is overestimated because demand from biofuel have depressed yields while growing demand for corn as food, production is not the only thing causing prices for soft com- feed and fuel have depleted stocks. Thus, corn prices are up. modities, such as wheat, to go up. Speculation, bad weather The United States controls more than 50 percent of the corn ex- and export restrictions also have an impact on food prices. port market, tying U.S. corn prices to global prices. Global and A myth is being created that biofuel production requires huge local prices in developing countries are operating increasingly in volumes of crops. But on a global scale, only a net 3 percent of tandem. In countries where food is heavily processed and trans- all cereals are used for biofuels — too marginal to be the sole ported, rising prices are broadly absorbed, mitigating the impact cause of fluctuation in commodity prices. on consumers. Americans spend roughly 10 percent of their in- But, let’s imagine that there was a price-effect induced by come on food, and 2011 prices will be up by only 4 percent. increased demand. This would provide an incentive for farm- In import-dependent Uganda, however, the average consumer ers in poorer regions to grow more crops. That seems a more spends 63 percent of his income on whole foods, such as un- sustainable way forward than exporting (dumping) the over- processed grains, and the price of corn alone is 122 percent supply of commodities on African markets. higher than last year. Such price increases devastate poor families. Higher yields and improved farming methods will ensure Biofuels are not the only factor at play in rising food that supply can match demand, the very basis of price sta- prices, but they’re a key driver. Dropping artificial incentives bility. can henolp relieve pressure on global food prices.

www.globalresearcher.com Oct. 18, 2011 517 RISING FOOD PRICES

Continued from p. 516 Another proposal pending before the “That’s going to have a huge im- In an effort to curb commodities European Commission would move un- pact on food prices,” says Columbia speculation by investors with no con- regulated trading of certain derivatives University economist Schlenker. “That’s nection to the farming or food sec- onto public exchanges, requiring re- part of why they’ve started buying tors, the law requires the agency to porting on their trading activity. It “will land in Africa and other places; they establish monthly limits on the amount go a long way in achieving trans- want to secure their food supply.” 74 of trading by speculators, both indi- parency of the huge over-the-counter A recent report from the Worldwatch vidually and as a group. 70 market that caused the financial crisis,” Institute, which found that global meat After being deluged by at least 110 Herman says. But the proposal doesn’t production tripled since the 1970s and lobbying firms in the first quarter of use that information to regulate the is continuing to rise at a faster pace in this year (compared with 46 in the biggest traders, he says. “For Oxfam, 2010 than 2009, predicted that reduced same period in 2010) the agency has the important issue is the relation be- pork supplies in Asia as a result of dis- delayed issuing regulations until the tween excessive speculation and food ease and expiring subsidies would trans- end of the year. 71 prices for poor countries. We believe late into record pork exports from the Large banks are “spending a huge [the EU] should be bolder because the United States to satisfy rising demand in amount of money trying to undo [the potential harm is so great.” South Korea, China and Japan. 75 proposals], shift the burden and delay Similarly, G-20 members appear to be But other experts say China will the reforms that are targeted at them,” pulling back despite strong earlier state- satisfy most of its own demand with- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner ments by Sarkozy as France took over in its borders, helped by some mod- recently told the House Small Busi- the G-20 presidency. “France [had] made est imports. Compared to Japan, which ness Committee. 72 strong comments about ways to curb imports half its food, China only im- The U.S. rules-writing exercise is speculation but came to the conclusion ports 1 percent, and isn’t even among being closely followed in Europe, where by the summer that the issue was mar- the world’s top 10 food importers. 76 similar curbs are under consideration. ket information,” according to Abbassian. Until 2005, China was a net ex- Recently though, according to several When it comes to putting position porter of food, according to the Paris- observers, enthusiasm has waned limits on traders, says Chow, the British based Organisation for Economic Co- among European leaders who came “are really resistant, and there’s no real operation and Development. But in out strongly for such limits last year. consensus among the G-20 countries recent years, it has begun importing Michel Barnier, the EU commissioner about tackling it.” agricultural products, especially soy- for internal market and services, pro- Action by the G-20 could come beans, on a large scale. 77 posed a regulation in September 2010 when finance ministers gather in Paris “China will become a bigger net that borrows from Dodd-Frank, both in mid-October or Nov. 3-4 at the G-20 importer over the next 10 years, but in limiting the concentration of spec- summit in Cannes, France. it’s a huge country and very worried ulators and requiring mandatory re- about ,” says Scott Rozelle, porting from those trading in over-the- an agricultural economist specializing counter derivatives. in China at Stanford University’s Free- Heidi Chow, an anti-hunger cam- OUTLOOK man Spogli Institute for International paigner for the World Development Studies. “They don’t want to become Movement, calls these proposals “the another Japan that imports half of its key policy” for tackling speculation in food. And they have relatively more the European Union. Climate Change agricultural resources to make sure However, Marc-Olivier Herman, that happens, so they’re investing bil- Oxfam International’s lead person on s food demand, energy prices and lions of dollars in research to increase EU economic-justice policy, says Barnier Aclimate temperatures continue to productivity.” already has “watered down” the pro- rise over the long term, many experts Some say cracks in China’s self- posal. Rather than setting out strict nu- say high food prices are here to stay. sufficiency are just starting to show merical limits on the positions specu- Some are particularly worried by the up. This year, one of every four soy- lators can hold, the proposal would impact of an increasingly affluent Chi- bean rows planted in the United States give big market investors like pension nese population, which already consumes was being grown for Chinese export, funds a say in managing their posi- about half the world’s pork and whose and China’s surprisingly large pur- tions, along the lines favored by Britain, per capita meat consumption grew 15- chase of U.S. corn this summer according to Herman. fold between 1960 and 2002. 73 prompted speculation that the Asian

518 CQ Global Researcher giant could become the biggest for- combined. If agriculture continues on march/bread-and-protests-the-return-of-high- eign buyer of American corn with- its conventional course, farmers will food-prices/mobile-edition/?locale=en. in the next 5-10 years. 78 have to chop down more rain forests, 7 For background, see Roland Flamini, “Tur- But FAO grain expert Abbassian destroy savannahs and pollute more moil in the Arab World,” CQ Global Researcher, is not worried about China’s future waterways to grow enough food. But May 3, 2011, pp. 209-236. 8 “Bread and Protests: The Return of High demand. “China will eventually be- new interest in native crops, wild rel- Food Prices,” op. cit. come an even bigger player in the atives of conventional crops, traditional 9 “Chinese Hunger for Corn Stretches Farm world market in purchasing food,” he sustainable cultivation and biotech- Belt,” The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 17, 2011, says, but countries like Brazil, the nology discoveries may uncover http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311 United States and Argentina will be plants that can survive amidst a warm- 1903554904576460300155681760.html. able to satisfy China’s needs. “In ing climate and other challenges like 10 World Bank, “Food Price Watch,” Febru- 2020, we see China as a very mod- the evolving resistance of pests and ary 2011, www.worldbank.org/foodcrisis/food_ est importer of 5-6 million tons of diseases to chemical controls. In- price_watch_report_feb2011.html. Note: This in- grain, which is nothing for a coun- creasingly, environmentalists and agri- crease occurred between June-December 2010. 11 try of over a billion people. Five to cultural experts say it will be neces- These are USDA projections for the six million tons won’t have any big sary to draw on both the wisdom of 2010/11 growing season, cited in World Bank, op. cit. The EPA recently approved plans to impact on world markets.” traditional farmers and the advances allow the use of 15 percent ethanol in newer If global temperatures rise and rain- of modern agriculture to feed the world cars. For the rule see www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/ fall becomes less frequent, especially without destroying the planet. fuels/additive/e15/index.htm#waiver. By law, in already-arid regions, it will strain “We’re talking about the foundation the corn ethanol share of motor fuel must farmers’ ability to continue producing of civilization,” says Foley. “We can’t af- rise to 15 billion gallons by 2015. See Reuters, increased yields, let alone meet cur- ford to let anyone in the world go hun- “Corn dominance to bend, not break,” Sept. 30, rent demand. gry. Hungry countries are unstable coun- 2011, http://us.mobile.reuters.com/article/envi A recent widely discussed paper by tries — places that could be very ronmentNews/idUSTRE78T3CO20110930. Schlenker and Stanford University en- dangerous to the whole world.” 12 Alan Bjerga, Endless Appetites (2011), p. 78. 13 vironmental scientist David B. Lobell The G-20 is an economic forum for a group finds that climate change has already of 20 industrialized and developing countries. 14 Food and Agriculture Organization, et al., knocked 3.8 percentage points off world Notes “Price Volatility and Agricultural Markets: Policy corn yields and 5.5 percent off glob- Responses,” Policy report to the G20, June 2, 79 al wheat yields. 2011, p. 15. Demand is projected to increase 1 Compounding these environmental “Bouazizi,” Time, Jan. 21, 2011, www.time. between 70 and 100 percent by 2050, while problems, growing more crops for bio- com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2044723,00. world population will increase from the current fuels may worsen greenhouse gas emis- html. 7 billion to 9 billion, www.oecd.org/document/ 2 sions, rather than ameliorating them, World Bank, “Middle East and North Africa: 20/0,3746,en_2649_37401_48152724_1_1_1_37401, according to two highly respected sci- Agriculture and Rural Development,” 2008, http:// 00.html. web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUN 15 entific groups on both sides of the At- Worldwatch Institute, “State of the World TRIES/MENAEXT/0,,contentMDK:20528258~ 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet,” lantic. In a report released in Octo- pagePK:146736~piPK:226340~theSitePK:2562 ber, the National Academy of Science’s 2011, p. 61. 99,00.html. 16 Jonathan A. Foley, “Can We Feed the World National Research Council noted that 3 Rami Zurayk, “Use your Loaf,” The Observer, & Sustain the Planet?” Scientific American, clearing land to grow biofuel crops July 17, 2011, www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ November 2011. may “disrupt any future potential” for 2011/jul/17/bread-food-arab-spring. 17 For background, see Doug Struck, “Dis- 80 4 storing carbon in the soil. In Sep- “The News Hour,” PBS, Sept. 7, 2011, “Did appearing Forests,” CQ Global Researcher, tember, a scientific advisory commit- Food Prices Spur Arab Spring?” www.pbs.org/ Jan. 18, 2011, pp. 27-52. tee to the EU also warned that clear- newshour/updates/world/july-dec11/food_09- 18 Gregory Meyer, “U.S. Ethanol Refiners Use ing forests for biofuel crops releases 07.html. More Corn than Farmers,” Financial Times, 5 “large stores of carbon into the at- “Putin Says No Grain Exports Before 2011 July 12, 2011, www.ft.com/cms/s/0/77dfcd98- Harvest,” Reuters, Sept. 2, 2010, www.reuters. mosphere” and said EU governments ac9f-11e0-a2f3-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Zhlru com/article/2010/09/02/us-russia-grain-idUS had failed to take this into account Bdj. Ethanol will use 40 percent of the corn TRE68125J20100902. crop from the 2010-11 growing season, which when they began encouraging the 6 “Bread and Protests: The Return of High Food ended Aug. 31, 2011, according to USDA. production of biofuels. 81 Prices,” International Institute for Strategic Stud- Also see, David Biello, “Intoxicated on In- Farming already emits more green- ies, March 2011, www.iiss.org/publications/ dependence: Is Domestically Produced Ethanol house gases than all transportation strategic-comments/past-issues/volume-17-2011/

www.globalresearcher.com Oct. 18, 2011 519 RISING FOOD PRICES

Worth the Cost?” Scientific American, July 28, duce the risks of price volatility,” U.N. Spe- of Economic Research, 2011. The United States 2011, www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm? cial Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Sep- produces roughly 23 percent of the four major id=ethanol-domestic-fuel-supply-or-environ tember 2010, www.srfood.org/index.php/en/ grains worldwide, www.nber.org/digest/aug10/ mental-boondoggle&print=true. component/content/article/894-food-commodi w15921.html. 19 Meyer, op. cit. ties-speculation-and-food-price-crises. 42 Niall Ferguson, The Ascent of Money (2008), 20 Biello, op. cit. 27 Worthy, op. cit. pp. 226-227. 21 Javier Blas and Chris Flood, “Heavy U.S. 28 De Schutter, op. cit., p. 3. 43 de Schutter, op. cit., p. 6. Rains to Lower Corn Yields,” Financial Times, 29 Lester Brown, “The Great Food Crisis of 2011,” 44 For background, see the following CQ Re- June 10, 2011, www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b5a41a66- Foreign Policy, Jan. 10, 2011, www.foreign searchers: Kenneth Jost, “Financial Crisis,” 3714-11dd-bc1c-0000779fd2ac.html#axzz1Zhl policy.com/articles/2011/01/10/the_great_food_ May 9, 2008, pp. 409-432; Marcia Clemmitt, ruBdj. crisis_of_2011. The number of additional din- “Mortgage Crisis,” Nov. 2, 2007, pp. 913-936; 22 “Meals per Gallon,” ActionAid, January 2010, ers each day cited in the article is 219,000. and David Masci, “Stock Market Troubles,” p. 10, www.actionaid.org.uk/doc_lib/meals_per_ 30 “Price Volatility in Food and Agricultural Jan. 16, 2004, pp. 25-48. gallon_final.pdf. Markets: Policy Responses,” op. cit., p. 10. 45 de Schutter, op. cit. 23 “Price Volatility in Food and Agricultural FAO estimates that the global demand for 46 “State of the World 2011,” op. cit., p. 30, Markets: Policy Responses,” op. cit., p. 27. food will increase between 70 and 100 per- 133-134. 24 Javier Blas, “G20 Attacked on Food Crisis cent by 2050. 47 Headey and Fan, op. cit., p. 86. Plan,” Financial Times, June 23, 2011, www.ft. 31 Brown, op. cit. 48 For background, see Marcia Clemmitt, “Glob- com/cms/s/0/aca4d56a-9da8-11e0-b30c-00144 32 Monsanto, “Producing More,” www.mon al Food Crisis,” CQ Researcher, June 27, 2008, feabdc0.html#axzz1ZuYetBKA. santo.com/ourcommitments/Pages/sustainable- pp. 553-576. 25 Bruce A. Babcock, “The Impact of U.S. agriculture-producing-more.aspx. 49 Vaclav Smil, “China’s Great Famine: 40 Biofuel Policies on Agricultural Price Levels 33 Derek Headey and Shenggen Fan, “Re- Years Later,” BMJ, Dec. 18, 1999, www.bmj. and Volatility,” International Centre for Trade flections on the Global Food Crisis,” Inter- com/content/319/7225/1619.full. and Sustainable Development, June 2011, Issue national Food Policy Research Institute, 2010, 50 Worldwatch Institute, op. cit., p. 13. Paper No. 35, p. viii, http://ictsd.org/downloads/ p. 4, www.ifpri.org/publication/reflections-global- 51 Askold Krushelnycky, “Stalin’s Starvation of 2011/06/babcock-us-biofuels.pdf. The 17 per- food-crisis. Ukraine,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, cent is the average result across 500 alter- 34 Brown, op. cit. 2003, www.ukemonde.com/news/rferl.html. native future scenarios for 2011-12, modeled 35 For background, see Peter Katel, “Food Also see, www.historyplace.com/worldhisto- with varying supply/demand conditions, Bab- Safety,” CQ Researcher, Dec. 17, 2010, pp. ry/genocide/stalin.htm. cock explained in an interview. 1037-1060; and David Hosansky, “Biotech 52 Bjerga, op. cit., pp. 65-66. Also see, “An- 26 Murray Worthy, “Broken Markets: How fi- Foods,” CQ Researcher, March 30, 2001, CQ other Soviet Grain Sting,” Time, Nov. 26, 1977, nancial market regulation can help prevent an- Researcher, 11, pp. 249-272. www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171, other global food crisis,” World Development 36 Jonathan A. Foley, “Can We Feed the World 919164,00.html. Movement, September 2011, www.wdm.org. & Sustain the Planet?” Scientific American, 53 “Food Security in the Russian Federation,” uk/stop-bankers-betting-food/broken-markets- November 2011. Food and Agriculture Organization, www.fao. how-financial-regulation-can-prevent-food-crisis. 37 Ibid. org/docrep/007/y5069e/y5069e03.htm. Also see Peggy Hollinger and Javier Blas, 38 Ibid. 54 Bjerga, op. cit., p. 66. “French Anger at Speculators Hits G20 Hopes,” 39 Headey and Fan, op. cit., p. 82. 55 William M. Liefert, et al., “Russia’s Transi- Financial Times, Feb. 3, 2011, www.ft.com/ 40 Ibid. tion to Major Player in World Agricultural cms/s/0/d487b732-2efe-11e0-88ec-00144feab 41 Michael Roberts and Wolfram Schlenker, Markets,” Choices, second quarter 2009, www. dc0.html#axzz1ZALNA6Sb. Also see: Olivier “Identifying Supply and Demand Elasticities choicesmagazine.org/magazine/article.php? de Schutter, “Food Commodities Speculation of Agricultural Commodities: Implications for article=78. and the Food Price Crises: Regulation to re- the U.S. Ethanol Mandate,” National Bureau 56 “Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evalu- ation 2011,” Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development, 2011, p. 213, www. oecd.org/document/32/0,3746,en_2649_37401_ About the Author 48625184_1_1_1_37401,00.html. 57 “The Miracle of the Cerrado,” The Econo- Sarah Glazer, a London-based freelancer, is a regular con- mist, Aug. 26, 2010, www.economist.com/node/ tributor to CQ Global Researcher. Her articles on health, 16886442. education and social-policy issues also have appeared in 58 Headey and Fan, op. cit., p. 89. The New York Times and The Washington Post. Her recent 59 Justin Gillis, “A Warming Planet Struggles CQ Global Researcher reports include “Radical Islam in Eu- to Feed Itself,” The New York Times, June 4, rope” and “Social Welfare in Europe.” She graduated from 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/science/ the University of Chicago with a B.A. in American history. earth/05harvest.html?_r=3&ref=todayspaper& pagewanted=print.

520 CQ Global Researcher 60 Bjerga, op. cit., p. 22. 61 For most of 2011 corn prices were above $7 a bushel but fell to $5.75 in early Octo- FOR MORE INFORMATION ber. See Dan Piller, “Corn’s Fall Continues,” ActionAid International, 41 Rue du Commerce, 1000, Brussels, Belgium; 32 Oct. 3, 2011, Des Moines Register, http://blogs. 2502 40 28; www.actionaid.org/eu. Network of community groups around the desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/10/ world that advocates for rights for the poor; has been particularly active in re- 03/corns-fall-continues/. porting on “land grabs” by foreign biofuels companies that displace people in de- 62 Ibid. veloping countries. 63 Gillis, op. cit. 64 Ibid. Earth Policy Institute, 1350 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 403, Washington, DC 65 Headey and Fan, op. cit., p. 89. 20036; 202-496-9290; www.earth-policy.org. An environmental organization found- 66 “Anti-government rioting spreads in ed by Lester Brown, an agricultural economist and expert on international agricul- Cameroon,” The New York Times, Dec. 7, 2008, ture, who has been called the guru of the global environmental movement. www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/world/africa/27 iht-27cameroon.10504780.html. Also See “Meals Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Viale delle per Gallon,” op. cit., p. 14. Overall, world food Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy; 39 06 57051; www.fao.org. A 191-member prices increased by 75 percent. But the price international organization that provides information about global food prices and supplies; focuses on improving nutrition levels and agricultural productivity. for grains like corn, rice and wheat jumped even more — on the order of 126 per- Institute of International Finance, 1333 H St., N.W., Suite 800E, Washington, cent. For background, see Clemmitt, op. cit. 67 DC 20005-4770; 202-857-3600; www.iif.com. Represents world’s largest banks and Bjerga, op. cit., p. 66. financial institutions in 70 countries; active on commodity speculation regulation. 68 “Mass Arrests Over Mozambique Food Riots,” BBC, Sept. 6, 2010, www.bbc.co.uk/news/ International Food Policy Research Institute, 2033 K St., N.W., Washington, world-africa-11198444. Also See, “Mozambique DC 20006; 202-862-5600; www.ifpri.org. Seeks sustainable solutions for ending Bread Riots Spread as Police Shoot Protesters hunger and poverty; one of 15 centers supported by the Consultative Group on Dead,” Guardian, Sept. 2, 2010, www.guardian. International Agricultural Research, an alliance of 64 governments, private founda- co.uk/world/2010/sep/02/mozambique-bread- tions and international and regional organizations. riots-looters-dead?intcmp=239. Also see Bjerga, op. cit., p. 68. Oxfam International, Suite 20, 266 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7DL, United 69 “FAO Food Price Watch,” Food and Agri- Kingdom; 44 1865 339 100; www.oxfam.org. International confederation of 15 culture Organization, Oct. 6, 2011, www.fao. organizations working in 98 countries to find solutions to poverty and injustice. org/worldfoodsituation/wfs-home/foodprices index/en/. Renewable Fuels Association, 425 Third Street, S.W., Suite 1150, Washington, 70 de Schutter, p. 6. The act (PL 111-203) DC 20024; 202-289-3835; www.ethanolrfa.org. Trade association for the renewable was signed July 21, 2010. fuels industry in the United States. 71 Josh Boak, “Wall Street Strikes at Regulations,” Politico, July 10, 2011, www.politico.com/news/ World Development Movement, 66 Offley Road, London SW9 0LS, United Kingdom; +44 20 7820 4900; www.wdm.org.uk. Activist group working to defeat stories/0711/58644.html. world poverty; [advocates ok???] commodities speculation regulation. 72 Ibid. 73 “Datablog: Meat Consumption per Capita,” Worldwatch Institute, 1776 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036; Guardian, Sept. 2, 2009, www.guardian.co. 202-452-1999; www.worldwatch.org. Independent research institute devoted to uk/environment/datablog/2009/sep/02/meat- analyzing environmental issues of global concern. consumption-per-capita-climate-change. 74 For background, see Jina Moore, “Resolving Land Disputes,” CQ Global Researcher, Sept. 6, 78 “Chinese Hunger for Corn Stretches Farm fuel Policy,” National Research Council, 2011, 2011, pp. 421-446; and Karen Foerstel, “China Belt,” The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 17, 2011, p. 5, http://download.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_ in Africa,” CQ Global Researcher, Jan. 1, 2008, op. cit. id=13105. pp. 1-26. 79 David B. Lobell, Wolfram Schlenker and 81 James Kanter, “Serious Error Found in Car- 75 Jesse Chang, “Meat Production and Con- Justin Costa-Roberts, “Climate Trends and bon Savings for Fuels,” Green Blog, The New sumption Continue to Grow,” Vital Signs, Global Crop Production Since 1980,” Science, York Times, Sept. 14, 2011, http://green.blogs. Worldwatch Institute, Oct. 11, 2011, www.world July 29, 2011, pp. 616-620, www.sciencemag. nytimes.com/2011/09/14/serious-error-found- watch.org/node/9055. org/content/early/2011/05/04/science.1204531. in-carbon-savings-for-biofuels/. Also See: www. 76 Headey and Fan, op. cit. abstract. eea.europa.eu/about-us/governance/scientific- 77 “Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evalu- 80 “Renewable Fuel Standard: Potential Eco- committee/sc-opinions/opinions-on-scientific- ation 2011,” op. cit., p. 223. nomic and Environmental Effects of U.S. Bio- issues/sc-opinion-on-greenhouse-gas/view.

www.globalresearcher.com Oct. 18, 2011 521 Bibliography Selected Sources

Books Runge, C. Ford, “The Case against Biofuels: Probing Ethanol’s Hidden Costs,” Yale Environment 360, 11 March Bjerga, Alan, Endless Appetites: How the Commodities Casi- 2010, http://e360.yale.edu/feature/the_case_against_biofuels_ no Creates Hunger and Unrest, Bloomberg Press, 2011. probing_ethanols_hidden_costs/2251/. The agricultural policy reporter for Bloomberg News ex- A University of Minnesota professor of applied economics plains the recent growth of commodities speculators in this and law traces the U.S. ethanol industry’s expansion since fast-paced, entertaining account of the latest world food crises. the powerful Midwestern farm lobby obtained government biofuel subsidies, which he says hurt both the environment Worldwatch Institute, “State of the World Report 2011,” and food prices for the poor. Norton, 2011, www.worldwatch.org/sow11. A collection of essays by experts, gathered by a Washington, Reports D.C.-based environmental research organization, describes how the rediscovery of native vegetables and ecological farming meth- “Financial Investment in Commodities Markets: Potential ods in 25 sub-Saharan African countries is improving output. Impact on Commodity Prices and Volatility,” Institute of International Finance, September 2011, www.iif.com/press/ Articles press+204.php. This global association of large banks and investment man- Brown, Lester, “The Great Food Crisis of 2011,” Foreign agers counters the charge that new commodities speculators Policy, Jan. 10, 2011, www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/ have boosted food prices and made them more volatile. 2011/01/10/the_great_food_crisis_of_2011. Rising food prices and riots in the Middle East signal a “Meals Per Gallon: The Impact of Industrial Biofuels broader environmental crisis that will make it harder to grow on People and Global Hunger,” ActionAid, 2010, www. enough food, according to this environmentalist. actionaid.org.uk/doc_lib/meals_per_gallon_final.pdf. European policies to expand biofuels production are pushing Foley, Jonathan A., “Can We Feed the World & Sustain the small farmers off their land and raising food prices in devel- Planet?” Scientific American, November 2011, pp. 34-37. oping countries, according to this report from a Johannesburg- University of Minnesota environmental scientist Foley ex- based group devoted to reducing global hunger and poverty. plains how world food production could be doubled by 2050 without destroying the planet. “Price Volatility in Food and Agricultural Markets: Poli- cy Responses,” Food and Agriculture Organization, et al., Gillis, Justin, “A Warming Planet Struggles to Feed Itself,” June 2, 2011, www.oecd.org/document/20/0,3746,en_26 The New York Times, June 4, 2011. 49_37401_48152724_1_1_1_37401,00.html. Scientists worry that warming temperatures from climate This report, prepared for the G-20, blames government bio- change will make it difficult to meet world food demand. fuel mandates for driving up world food prices but says the jury is still out on whether commodities speculation also was Kilman, Scott and Brian Spegele, “Chinese Hunger for Corn boosting prices. Stretches Farm Belt,” The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 17, 2011, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190 Headey, Derek and Shenggen Fan, “Reflections on the 3554904576460300155681760.html. Global Food Crisis,” International Food Policy Research A surprise purchase of U.S. corn by China this summer Institute, Nov. 18, 2010, www.ifpri.org/pressroom/briefing/ raised speculation that the giant Asian country could become reflections-global-food-crisis. the largest importer of American corn as the Chinese ap- An independent research institute blames the 2008 food petite for meat grows. crisis on rising energy costs, biofuels expansion, export re- strictions and bad weather — not meat-eating in China. Lobell, David B., Wolfram Schlenker and Justin Costa- Roberts, “Climate Trends and Global Crop Production Worthy, Murray, “Broken Markets: How Since 1980,” Science, July 29, 2011, pp. 616-620, www. Regulation Can Help Prevent Another Global Food Crisis,” sciencemag.org/content/333/6042/616.full.html. World Development Movement, 2011, www.wdm.org.uk/ Researchers from Stanford and Columbia estimate that ris- stop-bankers-betting-food/broken-markets-how-financial- ing temperatures due to climate change have already re- regulation-can-prevent-food-crisis. duced crop yields over the past 30 years in France, Russia, This report from a London-based anti-poverty group blames China and other countries. the latest food crisis on commodities speculators.

522 CQ Global Researcher The Next Step: Additional Articles from Current Periodicals

African Famine Earn Peanuts,” The Monitor (Uganda), March 30, 2011, allafrica.com/stories/201103300030.html. Gettleman, Jeffrey, “U.N. Officials Say Famine Is Widening Ugandan farmers have yet to reap the full benefits of rising in Somalia,” The New York Times, Sept. 6, 2011, p. A4, www. food prices, due in part to a lack of production capacity. nytimes.com/2011/09/06/world/africa/06somalia.html. Lower agricultural production and soaring food prices have Crumb, Michael J., “Experts: Farmers Not to Blame for contributed to widespread famine in Somalia, according to High Food Prices,” The Associated Press, April 4, 2011, the United Nations. www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/04/farmers-blame-high- food-prices_n_844405.html. Islam, Rafiqul, “Famine in East Africa,” United News of Farmers and ethanol producers should not be blamed for Bangladesh, July 29, 2011. high food prices, according to some experts. Eastern Africa is experiencing the most severe food crisis in the world today due to a lack of water and high food prices. Speculation

Mariam, Alemayehu G., “Meles Zenawi and the Weaponiza- “Fears Rise Over Banks’ Agricultural Trading,” Daily tion of Famine,”Ethiomedia (Ethiopia), Aug. 8, 2011, www. Telegraph (England), May 2, 2011. ethiomedia.com/andnen/2776.html. With humanitarian officials becoming increasingly worried Manipulators of food prices are causing a widespread over rising food prices, banks are coming under a harsh famine in Ethiopia that is being used as a political tool, ac- spotlight for their agricultural trading. cording to a political science professor. Asrianti, Tifa, “Global Food Speculation ‘Driving Up’ Prices,” Biofuels Jakarta (Indonesia) Post, May 13, 2011, www.thejakarta post.com/news/2011/05/13/global-food-speculation-‘driving- Evans, Alex, “Counting the Real Cost of Biofuels,”Guardian up’-prices.html. Unlimited (England), May 31, 2011. The Indonesia Farmers Union says international food-price Several international organizations have adopted guidelines speculation has encouraged staple food sellers to hold onto for producing biofuels in ways that don’t add to global warm- their stocks, which has pushed up prices. ing or affect food prices. Morgenson, Gretchen, “Speculators Get a Break in New Rosenthal, Elisabeth, “Rush to Use Crops As Fuel Raises Rule,” The New York Times, Sept. 25, 2011, p. BU1, www. Food Prices and Hunger Fears,” The New York Times, nytimes.com/2011/09/25/business/economy/new-rule- April 7, 2011, p. A1, www.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/science/ gives-commodities-speculators-a-break.html. earth/07cassava.html. A Senate panel has concluded that skyrocketing wheat prices Many experts are calling on countries to scale back their are reflected in high levels of financial speculation in wheat. biofuel development in response to high food prices. CITING CQ GLOBAL RESEARCHER Zaman, Samihah, “Biofuel Crops Will Not Increase Food Sample formats for citing these reports in a bibliography Prices, Shortages,” Gulf News (United Arab Emirates), Jan. 21, 2011, gulfnews.com/business/general/biofuel- include the ones listed below. Preferred styles and formats crops-will-not-increase-food-prices-shortages-1.749692. vary, so please check with your instructor or professor. Government officials in the United Arab Emirates don’t be- lieve that increasing biofuel crops will create food shortages MLA STYLE or price spikes. Flamini, Roland. “Nuclear Proliferation.” CQ Global Re- searcher 1 Apr. 2007: 1-24. Farmers APA STYLE Brasher, Philip, “Jump in Profits for Food Crops Can Flamini, R. (2007, April 1). Nuclear proliferation. CQ Global Jeopardize Poor Countries,” Des Moines (Iowa) Register, Feb. 4, 2011, p. B7. Researcher, 1, 1-24. Soaring food prices have proved beneficial for American CHICAGO STYLE farmers but have raised concerns about the impact on poor people in other countries. Flamini, Roland. “Nuclear Proliferation.” CQ Global Researcher, April 1, 2007, 1-24. Bugaari, Ambrose, “Despite Rising Prices, Farmers Still

www.globalresearcher.com Oct. 18, 2011 523 Voices From Abroad:

HASSAN ZAMAN ALA’A AL DEEN portation fuel by 2050. Unfor- JUDITH ROBERTSON tunately, biofuels often have a Lead Economist, Poverty MOUSA pernicious side-effect. They take Director, Oxfam, Scotland Reduction and Equity Senior Researcher food away from poor people Group, World Bank Department of Economic by driving up the price of Hunger and history grains. Soaring food prices are “The food system must be Development overhauled if we are to over- More than just agricul- far more disturbing to global United Arab Emirates political stability than rising come the increasingly press- ture ing challenges of spiraling “Food security is about energy prices. Ask many of Buffering prices the strongmen of the Middle food prices, climate change much more than food or and the of land, water agriculture. It’s about ensur- “For a country [United Arab East, or Marie Antoinette.” Emirates] that imports so much and energy. We must con- ing adequate and nutritious Financial Mail (South Africa) of its food, a buffer stock is sign hunger to history.” food for every member of June 2011 the household. This requires extremely crucial for times of The Herald (Scotland) crisis. Such stocks could even that people can afford to ZULKIFLI BDUL June 2011 purchase nutritious food and be used to absorb the shock D A so is clearly linked to in- of current high prices.” RAZAK ROBERT ZOELLICK come growth, particularly for Gulf News (United Arab Emi- Vice Chancellor, Universiti President, World Bank the poor.” rates), March 2011 Sains, Malaysia Pakistan Press International Putting food first February 2011 JOSETTE SHEERAN A narrow focus “More poor people are suf- Executive Director, World “Agricultural development fering and more people could ABDOLREZA ABBASSIAN focuses narrowly on increas- become poor because of high Food Program, United ing productivity rather than and volatile food prices. We Food Economist Nations on the broader food and nu- have to put food first and Food and Agriculture tritional security of people. protect the poor and vul- Organization A reality for all After all, freedom from hunger nerable, who spend most of “We are on red alert, and is the first requisite for sus- their money on food.” United Nations we are continually assessing tainable human security.” Guardian Unlimited (England) needs and reassessing plans New Straits Times (Malaysia) April 2011 More important to others and stand ready to assist. Ris- October 2011 “High food prices are of ing food prices are a reality major concern especially for for the whole world, but they low-income food deficit have the biggest impact on countries that may face prob- the poorest and most vul- lems in financing food im- nerable populations.” ports and for poor house- UzReport (Uzbekistan)

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