Simple math on food costs

ARTICLE: "Why the World Can't Afford Food: And why higher prices are here to stay," by Jackson Dykman, Time, 19 May 2008, p. 34.

Poor harvests and restrictive trade policies +

Increasing price of oil +

Diversion of crops for biofuels +

Increasing demand, especially in China =

Record prices worldwide.

Bottom line on corn ethanol: "U.S. farmers are devoting more land to corn at the expense of other crops and turning more of the corn into ethanol. It's a double whammy: both corn and grain for food become scarcer, further driving up prices."

Comments

[Jarrod Myrick]

What factor does the weak dollar play? How difficult will it be to quantify the number of Gap dead because of Old Core ag policies?At lesat those impoverished thoroughbred racehorse breeders got theirhandout.