The DP has an interesting piece on how soaring food price increases have hurt local charity Robert Ford Haitian Orphanage and School Foundation’s ability to give food to its Haitian orphanage.
The expense of the meals is rising at a staggering rate. A few months ago, roughly $5,000 of the program’s $9,500 monthly costs went to food. Now the monthly food costs have increased to $8,500.
“I don’t want to sound desperate, but we’ve got a big problem,” Ford said.
This problem is not only an issue for local charities, our privileged dining habits, or Haitians, but a problem for the whole world. Unlike rising fuel prices, humans (especially the very poor) can’t switch their eating habits to deal with necessary consumption of basic food groups.
To give you an idea of just how bad these rising prices are across all food groups, take a look at the chart.
Oils and Fats and Cereals have nearly tripled since 2000. Now, what can be done about this? I don’t have a good answer, but if you have any ideas or solutions, I’d love to hear them. Informational video after the break.
Oh and play Free Rice!!!
[DP, more reading at World Food Programme, Food Price Index]
Popularity: 24% [?]
Tagged as: cereal, charity, Food, giving, grain, inflation, Non-Profit, rice
great topic for a post, Thor. This is a serious global problem that deserves great concern. So much so, in fact, that SOME teachers (I wonder who?) have made sure that their students are aware of the severity of the problem. Only after the SOL tests were completed, of course. When you live in a third-world country and you are making a dollar a day (often less) and the price of food spikes like that, you and your family are in serious trouble.
THIS is a really helpful link to a graphic that the Washington Post made to help explain WHY food prices have been increasing.
THIS is anvarticle from the Washington Post that describes how rising food prices have negatively impacted the food that is being served to our kids via the school cafeteria.
/still think the chart showing the dangers of the internet (i.e. incidence of LOLCatz over time) was way better than the food ones
this is the kind of problem that starts wars. isn’t the darfur situation rooted in a dispute between two ethnic groups over water access?
I had to work with some Haitians in NJ last week. Whatever combination of French and English they speak is completely unintelligible.
/not related to this thread at all except for the word Haitian.
suggestion: our next party be about raising money for food.
Grain elevators raise food for money, so just do one like that but the opposite.
I’m not going to be surprised if we start seeing this on a more global scale. Much of America’s surplus grain goes to third world countries. Since our surplus is being depleted for a variety of reasons, we’re going to see more of our grain stay here rather than go to those in need in other countries.
There may be more high-minded reasons for the spike in food prices, but I think it is closely tied to the increase in the price of crude oil. Transportation, plastics, packaging supplies, manufacturing supplies, many of which are petroleum based, are increasing in price. This all plays a role. We should produce more oil in the US, but since that seems unlikely, this situation will worsen.
whatever it is, it’s a market problem. jack @7 is right in his point that the costs of any commodity are rooted largely in energy: the creation, refinement, and shipment of whatever it may be. this includes the energy that was used to create, refine, and ship its components, and the components of its components. and so on.
the best solution to a market problem is to show the market a better way, so vote with your dollars and invest in cheaper energy alternatives. i invest money in companies that further this kind of research.
i also recycle my used cats.
buying local is apparently good for this problle
Look at you guys coming up with intelligent answers… with the exception of parlie @8 recycling cats.
Jack raises a good point about energy. In my opinion, III world countries need to prepare new ways to grow their own produce. Organizations such as Millennium Promise and Kiva are trying to help in this area and anyone can be part of it. Investing in research companies is all fine and dandy, but Millennium Promise and others are directly developing these countries in need… Self sufficiency.
Without that, they’re all doomed!
@8 Parlie… what did you use them for and do I need a credit card to see it on the internet?