Tuesday, September 7, 2010

World food prices jump, Cornell expert warns that fluctuations will continue

A recent NY Times article describes the recent rises in world food prices: "Food prices rose 5 percent globally during August, according to theUnited Nations, spurred mostly by the higher cost of wheat, and the first signs of unrest erupted as 10 people died in Mozambique during clashes ignited partly by a 30 percent leap in the cost of bread."

In the article, er Pinstrup-Anderson, Cornell professor of international agriculture, warns that fluctuations will continue, particularly with climate change: “We are going to have much bigger fluctuations in weather and therefore the food supply than we had in the past, so we are going to have to learn how to cope with fluctuating food prices,” Professor Pinstrup-Anderson said.

Dr. Pinstrup-Anderson will be speaking on "Food Apocalypse Fatigue" on Wednesday, September 8 from 12:20 - 1:10 p.m. at 101 Bradfield Hall, Cornell University.  From the announcement: "Tired of all the talk about the world not being able to feed its future population? So is Prof Pinstrup-Andersen, former Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and 2001 World Food Prize Laureate, who will lead a conversation at this week's CIIFAD seminar about the capacity of the earth to feed future generations sustainably, and what needs to be done and by whom. Is exaggeration of the food and environmental challenges essential to get action from policymakers? How many more times can we cry wolf before we lose credibility and audience for these critical issues?"

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