World Socialist Website published an article on how Global food prices have risen 33 percent in the last 12 months, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Basic staples such as vegetable oil, grains, and meat have shown some of the highest increases. With the world’s poorest countries lacking the resources to provide food subsidies or social support; rising grain, oil, and sugar prices threaten masses of people already living a hand-to-mouth existence with malnutrition and starvation. Analysts are expecting prices to continue rising, as extreme weather, the surge in fertilizer and freight costs, shipping logjams, supply chain blockages, export bans on key foodstuffs by some producer countries, stockpiling by others, and labor shortages compound the problems. Senior research fellow Joseph Glauber said that food insecurity was often a trigger for unrest. Also published in Counter Currents.
