The Silent Tsunami

World Food Program executive director Josette Sheeran called the food crisis a silent tsunami. The Washington Post carried the warning on its front page, writing that "[m]ore than 100 million people are being driven deeper into poverty by a 'silent tsunami' of sharply rising food prices, which have sparked riots around the world and threaten U.N.-backed feeding programs for 20 million children."

Flickr photo by IRRI Images under a Creative Commons license.

The causes of the food crisis include "sharply rising fuel prices, droughts in key food-producing countries, ballooning demand in emerging nations such as China and India, and the diversion of some crops to produce biofuels." The leader of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, Jacques Diouf, urged leaders to focus on the next growing season rather than just immediate relief. He explained that farmers need assistance to take advantage of higher prices, including better storage facilities, safe packaging, irrigation, and roads. Diouf also blamed poor policy decisions in recent years for the crisis. In addition to farm subsidies in wealthy countries pushing down prices and discouraging production by farmers in developing countries, he cited the reduction in "food aid for agriculture by half" and a lack of investment in "water management in different countries of the third world." To look at one type of food in particular, rising rice prices are especially hurting West African countries where rice is an important staple. The global crisis has even lead to sales limits of large quantity rice purchases at Wal-Mart and at least two Costco stores in the United States. Store officials were quick to point out, however, that the run on rice was not because of a real shortage but rather people hedging against higher future prices.