Though international policy analysts -- past and present -- have lavished attention on arms races, oil wars, blood diamonds, and other such sources of insecurity, few have spilled ink on an issue that now threatens global stability: the rising cost of grain. No surprise. Arms races have been the subject of Star Wars and James Bond movies, and conflict over diamonds carried the story in "Blood Diamond," with the dashing Leonardo DiCaprio and the luscious Jennifer Connelly. Writing about rice and wheat is just not as sexy. But average food prices have risen 45 percent in the past nine months. And just as rising rice prices fueled rice riots and toppled the Japanese government in 1918, today's price hikes now threaten political stability in the global south.
Food Riots Expose Danger of Ignoring Agriculture in ‘Development’ Strategies
