While the recent increase in the price of oil has caught the attention of people around the world, the increase in food prices and the problems accompanying these increases have not received the same attention. This is because "no one is starving in rich countries", according to Joachim Von Braun, director-general of the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington.
But with the lines for food stamps growing longer by the day in the world's most advanced and richest economy, it is a matter of time before the issue gets the attention it deserves. The number of Americans receiving food stamps is projected to reach 28 million in the coming year, the highest level since the aid programme began in the 1960s.
An increasing number of "people who were not in the urgent category are now moving into that category", according to Josette Sheeran, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme. As of December last year, 37 countries faced a food crisis and 20 had imposed some food price control.
The millions of people, some living on less than RM2 a day, are not just feeling it, they are demonstrating. As the old proverb has it: "A hungry man is an angry man." This is clearly evident in the growing tension and strife in a number of areas.
Food riots have erupted in Guinea, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan and Yemen in recent months. In Pakistan, troops are reported to have been deployed to guard lorries carrying wheat and flour. In Africa, the main household expense is on meals and even a slight increase can be devastating. In 1980, Liberian President William Tolbert was stabbed to death in a crisis sparked by an increase in the price of rice.
But with the lines for food stamps growing longer by the day in the world's most advanced and richest economy, it is a matter of time before the issue gets the attention it deserves. The number of Americans receiving food stamps is projected to reach 28 million in the coming year, the highest level since the aid programme began in the 1960s.
An increasing number of "people who were not in the urgent category are now moving into that category", according to Josette Sheeran, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme. As of December last year, 37 countries faced a food crisis and 20 had imposed some food price control.
The millions of people, some living on less than RM2 a day, are not just feeling it, they are demonstrating. As the old proverb has it: "A hungry man is an angry man." This is clearly evident in the growing tension and strife in a number of areas.
Food riots have erupted in Guinea, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan and Yemen in recent months. In Pakistan, troops are reported to have been deployed to guard lorries carrying wheat and flour. In Africa, the main household expense is on meals and even a slight increase can be devastating. In 1980, Liberian President William Tolbert was stabbed to death in a crisis sparked by an increase in the price of rice.
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