In much of the
developed world, it's all too easy to take a day's meals for granted. Breakfast
is something you grab going out the door, lunch is a diversion, and dinner is
an evening's entertainment. And while a trip to the grocery store may be a bit
of a chore, it's far from a life-and-death situation. However, the rising cost
of food threatens
to change much of this.
This customer
buys food at a grocery store near Frankfurt, Germany. Germany's consumer price
index jumped 3.1 percent from March 2007 to March 2008, due to rising food and
energy costs.In the United States, even the poorest households spend only 16
percent of their income on food [source:The New York Times]. In other
countries, especially developing nations, that figure reaches 75 percent and
higher. Rising food prices may be inconvenient for some households, but in
parts of southern Asia and Africa, a 25 percent rise in food costs can lead to
starvation, riots and political upheaval.
According to the
World Bank, food prices have risen by 83 percent in just three years and will
likely continue to rise [source: Cowen]. Governments have imposed tariffs
and trade restrictions in an attempt to stabilize prices. In parts of Asia and Africa, food costs
are already leading to social unrest. Global organizations like the World Bank
and the United Nations World
Food Programme are trying to alleviate the suffering. But why are food prices
rising so rapidly?
While economists
and critics place a great deal of blame on the growing biofuel market,
experts identify a number of other contributing factors, ranging from global
weather patterns to changing dietary trends.
So will people
start pouring water in their cereal because they can't afford the cost of milk?
In this article, we'll examine the many factors that are contributing to the
rapid rise in food costs.
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/food-cost-rising.htm
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