Food Riots And Organic Prices At Home, Oh MY!

Two remarkably different stories in today's New York Times reflect the dramatic impact of rising food costs and remind us that the battle over food quality in a world where most people don't have enough to eat is both a luxury as well as an intrinsic part of creating a solution.

In Across Globe, Empty Bellies Bring Rising Anger writer Mark Lacey reports on the increasing number of food riots and the potential for political crises around the globe.

In another story about food costs, Andrew Martin and Severson's Sticker Shock in the Organic Aisles report on the huge surge in commoodity prices and the fact that more organic growers are either returning to conventional farming or wondering if they can afford to continue organic farming.

Of course rising oil costs are at the root of the problem. Fuel prices are causing huge cost increases in everything from tractor fuel to fertilizer. Furthermore, our response to the decline in fossil fuels, has made the problem worse. As the price and demand for corn used in production of ethanol and bio- fuels grows, everything from feed to finished commodities gets more expensive.

In Haiti, as reported in the Times, basic staples have soared upwards of 45% since 2006. And here at home, a few weeks ago we heard from a pretzel company that their cost of flour increased 30% from last year. The Times article cites even bigger costs increases for organic farmers. Prices on the shelf are leaping up too, and the impact on consumers is here is going to get worse.

Economist Jeffrey Sachs, adviser to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, told Lacey that this is the worst food crisis in thirty years and that many stable governments are at risk of falling.

On Monday the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler, stated the production of biofuels is a a crime against humanity prompting the European Union to defend their goals of increasing production as part of a large scale effort to reduce global warming.

Times writer Lacey noted the plight of a family whose "children ate two spoonfuls of rice apiece as their only meal recently and then went without any food the following day." As he quotes the unemployed father of the family NBN wonders if a website about natural business is going to do anything to improve things.

“They look at me and say, ‘Papa, I’m hungry,’ and I have to look away. It’s humiliating and it makes you angry.”

Of course it might be easy to conclude that complaining about agribusiness is a luxury when most people don't have enough to eat. Yet this ignores the fact is that the business of agriculture is another central part of the problem. We'll devote a story next week to this bigger, more complex part of the picture that leaves us lucky ones wondering if grass fed beef from Argentina is a more sustainable choice than pasture fed organic cows from Montana and others are hoping they'll get lucky and have a bowl of rice today.

And if you're feeling hopeless don't. Instead let your knowledge about what's wrong lead to action and make a difference. Help a farm in Uganda run by AIDS widows by a tractor or take a look elsewhere and get active.

Meanwhile we have to do some research on carbonated beverage sales in the natural channel. Sometimes it seems that market research in a world where people are starving is just a bit more than stupid. But hey I'm grateful to have the work. Seriously.