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mostamericanstakefoodfranted.eventhepoorestfifthofhouseholdsintheunitedstatesspendonly16percentoftheirbudgetonfood.inmanyothercountries,itislessofagiven.nigerianfamiliesspend73percentoftheirbudgetstoeat,vietnamese65percent,indonesianshalf.theyareintrouble.
lastyear,thefoodimportbillofdevelopingcountriesroseby25percentasfoodpricesrosetolevelsnotseeninageneration.corndoubledinpriceoverthelasttwoyears.wheatreacheditshighestpricein28years.theincreasesarealreadysparkingunrestfromhaititoegypt.manycountrieshaveimposedpricecontrolsonfoodortaxesonagriculturalexports.
lastweek,thepresidentoftheworldbank,robertzoellick,warnedthat33nationsareatriskofsocialunrestbecauseoftherisingpricesoffood.“forcountrieswherefoodprisesfromhalftothree-quartersofconsumption,thereisnomarginforsurvival,”hesaid.
pricesareunlikelytodropsoon.theunitednationsfoodandagricultureanizationsaysworldcerealstocksthisyearwillbethelowestsince1982.
theunitedstatesandotherdevelopedcountriesneedtostepuptotheplate.theriseinfoodpricesispartlybecauseofuncontrollableforces—includingrisingenergycostsandthegrowthofthemiddleclassinchinaandindia.thishasincreaseddemandforanimalprotein,whichrequireslargeamountsofgrain.
buttherichworldisexacerbatingtheseeffectsbysupportingtheproductionofbiofuels.theinternationalmoaryfundestimatesthatcorhanolproductionintheunitedstatesaountedforatleasthalftheriseinworldcorndemandineachofthepastthreeyears.thiselevatedcornprices.feedpricesrose.sodidpricesofothercrops—mainlysoybeans—asfarmersswitchedtheirfieldstocorn,aordingtotheagriculturedepartment.
washingtonprovidesasubsidyof51centsagallontoethanolblendersandslapsatariffof54centsagallononimports.intheeuropeanunion,mostcountriesexemptbiofuelsfromsomegastaxesandslapanaveragetariffequaltomorethan70centsagallonofimportedethanol.thereareseveralreasonstoputanendtotheseinterventions.atbest,corhanoldeliversonlyasmallreductioningreenhousegasesparedwithgasoline.anditcouldmakethingsfarworseifitleadstomorefarminginforestsandgrasslands.risingfoodpricesprovideanurgentargumenttonixethanol’ssupports.overthelongterm,agriculturalproductivitymustincreaseinthedevelopingworld.
mr.zoellicksuggestedrichcountriescouldhelpfinancea“greenrevolution”toincreasefarmproductivityandraisecropyieldsinafrica.buttheriseinfoodpricescallsfordevelopednationstoprovidemoreimmediateassistance.lastmonth,theworldfoodprogramsaidrisinggraincostsblewaholeofmorethan$500millioninitsbudgetforhelpingmillionsofvictimsofhungeraroundtheworld.industrialnationsarenotgenerous,unfortunately.overseasaidbyrichcountriesfell8.4percentlastyearfrom.developednationswouldhavetoincreasetheiraidbudgetsby35percentoverthenextthreeyearsjusttomeetthemitmentstheymadein.
theymustnotletthistargetslip.continuedgrowthofthemiddleclassinchinaandindia,thepushforrenewablefuelsandanticipateddamagetoagriculturalproductioncausedbyglobalwarmingmeanthatfoodpricesarelikelytostayhigh.millionsofpeople,mainlyindevelopingcountries,couldneedaidtoavoidmalnutrition.richcountries’energypolicieshelpedcreatetheproblem.nowthosecountriesshouldhelpsolveit.