Since early 2007, global food prices have increased by 30%, placing the issue of food price inflation as a top priority for policymakers at the local, national, and international level. The price of cereals such as wheat, rice and corn has risen by 50%, while the cost of dairy products, oils, and fats has increased by an even higher percentage (see Figure 1 below).
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While rising food prices can have economic impacts across all segments of the population, the results are felt most acutely by the global poor. Nearly three billion people earn less than $2.00 a day and spend, on average, well over one-half of their household income on food. The urban poor, who typically do not produce their own food, are particularly vulnerable to price fluctuations.

KAMPALA, Aug 7 (Reuters) - World food prices have stabilised but will not return to levels seen before 2008 when commodity prices skyrocketed pushing up inflation in many emerging markets, the U.N. food agency said on Friday.
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While those prices have since eased on world markets, food prices in many developing nations continue to remain stubbornly high, and that situation has been exacerbated by a global economic slowdown that has hit exports and investment.
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"The world food system has adjusted even though stocks are at a 20-year low ... the market refined its level to one that it can sustain," said World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Executive Director Sheila Sisulu.
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"Our view is that they won't go back to the prices before 2008," she told Reuters in an interview.

Global food commodities prices are set to stay high in the medium term due to tight balance between supply and demand which can be easily rocked and trigger food price spikes similar to the 2007/08 crisis, agriculture experts say.
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The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation is hosting a world food summit in Rome on Nov. 16-18, hoping to raise awareness on the plight of the rising number of hungry people, who cannot afford decent meals because prices are still to high.

Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Is the Copenhagen treaty about creating a world government?
Alan Jones talks to Lord Monckton, British climate change sceptic, who says the Copenhagen treaty is about creating a world government