The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); relieving hunger Not many countries or people around the world associate hunger with people within the United States. But in reality it is a silent epidemic. The face of “hunger” is commonly associated with the homeless or people experiencing severe hardship in third world countries, caused by various economic, …
Tag: Food economics
May 07
Hidden factor of food price volatility
In the context of our fragile economic recovery, the prices of food, oil and other commodities have risen again. In December of 2010, the FAO food price index reached its 2008 peak; sugar, oils and fats being among the agricultural products that most significantly increased. For instance, the price of rice rose by 127%: wheat …
Feb 03
Sistema alimentario en peligro
La seguridad alimentaria es un tema que ha siempre interesado y preocupado a economistas, agrónomos y políticos. Desde 1800, algunos economistas predijeron la escasez alimentaria (la teoría de Malthus), que causaría hambrunas y muertes ya que la producción agrícola no sería suficiente. Aunque la teoría resultó ser equivocada, hoy en día es importante reconsiderar la …
Jan 27
Food system at peril
Food security is a topic that economists, agronomists and politicians are always concerned about. Since the 1800’s, some economists predicted that we were going to face serious scarcities (Malthus’s theory) causing famines and deaths. Although the theory turned out to be wrong, nowadays it is still important to take seriously Malthus’s prediction since we can …