A New Policy Brief From the Oakland Institute Examines the Impact of the 2008 Food Crisis on Latin America

The Food Crisis and Latin America

Oakland, CA: Rapidly increasing prices for staple foods from 2006 to 2008 culminated into a worldwide food crisis: inflation soared, food shortages were prevalent, and a lack of purchasing power among millions of the world's poor led to widespread hunger and desperation. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that higher prices pushed another 40 million people into hunger in 2008, bringing the overall number of undernourished people in the world to 963 million (compared to 923 million in 2007). The Food Crisis and Latin America, a new policy brief from the Oakland Institute examines the impact of the 2008 food price crisis on Latin America and the Caribbean.

Skyrocketing prices increased the number of hungry and malnourished Latin Americans; boycotts and protests became rampant which caused widespread social unrest; and governments were tried to control food prices through emergency policy measures. While several factors are cited as causes of the dramatic rise in food prices, the new policy brief, The Food Crisis and Latin America, explains the lack of access to and affordability of food in Latin America a result of trade and agricultural policies implemented over the past three decades. Beginning in the 1980s, Latin America as a region enacted the most sweeping reforms to its trade policies in the world, producing dramatic increases in agricultural trade. The policy brief examines if these gains have done anything to shield the region from inflation in world commodity prices and if they have made Latin America more food secure.

The policy brief also finds that even though world commodity prices have somewhat stabilized and recent reports indicate a downward turn in commodity prices, store shelves across the region are still void of affordable food and the crisis warrants immediate measures to address the failures in the global food system.

To learn more and download a copy of the report visit The Food Crisis and Latin America (http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/pdfs/Latin_America-Food_Prices_Brief.pdf).

Read other reports and policy briefs on the global food crisis at http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/?q=node/view/489