There's a good, if somewhat long, article in the New York Times today about the fall of Australian rice production due to drought, and the effects that has had on world food prices. This is turning into an increasingly scary problem, and every major news outlet has covered examples of the scariness like the Haiti food riots over the past few weeks.
I agree that the idea of a sustained, rapid increase in food prices has terrifying implications, but it involves a nexus of so many complex subjects – including environmental science, agriculture, energy policy, and economics – that I don't really know where to begin peeling it apart.
Next week I’ll be speaking with an expert on the subject, and hopefully will get a better idea what is really going on, and what we should really be afraid of. Until then I’d just like to point out that doomsday scenarios have been discussed but never seen for a lot of problems – bird flu jumps to mind. It isn't that we shouldn't think about this new catastrophe waiting to happen, but a level headed consideration of the problem is required.
