Leaders | Food prices
The end of cheap food
Rising food prices are a threat to many; they also present the world with an enormous opportunity
|
FOR as long as most people can remember, food has been getting cheaper and farming has been in decline. In 1974-2005 food prices on world markets fell by three-quarters in real terms. Food today is so cheap that the West is battling gluttony even as it scrapes piles of half-eaten leftovers into the bin.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "The end of cheap food"
From the December 8th 2007 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Leaders
Why South Africans are fed up after 30 years of democracy
After a bright start the ANC has proved incapable of governing for the whole country
How disinformation works—and how to counter it
More co-ordination is needed, and better access to data
America’s reckless borrowing is a danger to its economy—and the world’s
Without good luck or a painful adjustment, the only way out will be to let inflation rip