Food shortages in Latin America may foreshadow famine
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Food shortages, we know, are a problem in Latin America, as these dispatches from Haiti and Nicaragua last month show. In Dust Up this week, Paul Roberts and Jacob Grier debate the new food economy:
We’re not ‘headed’ for a major global food shortage this year -- it’s already here. Because of a perfect storm of drought, booming demand from Asia and ill-considered energy policy, global grain reserves have fallen to their lowest level in half a century. The real question is whether today’s crisis is short-term and, if not, what action needs to be taken.
In related news, Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon moved yesterday to cap prices on basic food items such as beans, fruit juices and canned tuna in the country.
Producers are essentially agreeing not to pass on their rising production costs to consumers. That enables the government to achieve price controls without direct economic intervention, such as through subsidies or ordering sanctions against manufacturers. ‘This reflects a commitment by Mexican entrepreneurs with the country,’ Calderon said. ‘Fixed, stable prices . . . will be an enormous help to family budgets.’ Read Marla Dickerson’s report in The Times here.
And read the BBC and NYT dispatches here.
-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City