Food prices are literally a matter of life and death, especially for the poorest of the poor, who already spend anywhere from 80% to 90% of their income on food. For them, a small increase in the price of bread or rice means the family goes hungry. Global food prices rose sharply in 2007-2008 and have remained high since. While prices are expected to ease somewhat, they will still average 20-30% higher in the next decade than over the past 10 years.
This is a major global challenge. There were more than 800 million people going hungry in the world in 2007 before prices rose, and that spiralled to more than a billion in 2009 at the height of the crisis. International response was inadequate, and in some cases high food prices triggered social unrest as people who had managed to rise above the hunger line fell back below it.
See full Press Release.
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