Council on Forgeign Relations
| Interviewee: | Laurie A. Garrett, Senior Fellow for Global Health, CFR |
|---|---|
| Interviewer: | Toni Johnson, Senior Staff Writer |
February 4, 2011
Food prices are skyrocketing across the world, and last month, they peaked to the highest levels since the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization began indexing them in 1990. In the Middle East, wheat prices are playing a role in the ongoing unrest, particularly in Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer. Laurie Garrett, CFR's senior fellow for global health, says the rising prices of staple grains in the region are adding to a "real sense of anger and injustice." She notes that though governments are attempting to hold prices down artificially, "very few governments can really get away with it because they just can't afford it." The food price crisis, she says, is "a destabilizing moment in terms of global governance" and to meet food demand going forward, the food production in the developing world must become more efficient and "every aspect of farming, harvesting, delivery, and distribution has to improve dramatically."...
