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A New Policy Brief from the Oakland Institute

Food Price Crisis: A Wake Up Call for Food Sovereignty

Food prices have been increasing sharply. According to the World Bank, global food prices have climbed by 83% over the last three years. The real price of rice rose to a 19-year high in March 2008, an increase of 50% in two weeks alone while the real price of wheat hit a 28-year high, triggering an international crisis.

The increase in food prices is impacting the most vulnerable - the poor are particularly affected, as their diets rely on the very staples that are becoming too costly: cereal grains, cooking oil, and dairy. However, the crisis is being felt not only by the poor, but is also eroding the gains of the working and middle classes, while investors and speculators are busy moving financial capital into food commodity markets after the housing bubble

burst in 2007. In the meanwhile International Financial Institutions are promoting further trade liberalization and technological fixes such as the Green Revolution to boost agricultural production.

This Policy Brief examines the impact and causes of the soaring food prices and explores the viability of solutions recommended by the World Bank, WTO and the IMF to deal with growing hunger. It then makes own recommendations on how to stave off the starvation.

To download a copy of the policy brief, visit www.oaklandinstitute.org

Also see at www.oaklandinstitute.org

Dangerous Liaisons: A Battle Plan from the UN and the International Financial Institutions to Fight Global Hunger

Agriculture: Overhaul of Agriculture Systems Needed

The Status of International Food Aid Negotiations

Food Price Crisis: A Wake Up Call for New Policies to Eradicate Hunger

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The Oakland Institute is a progressive policy think tank working to increase public participation and promote fair debate on critical social, economic, environmental and foreign policy issues.