February 2013, Vol. 136, No. 2 The Global Food Economy: Issues
and Challenges Download the PDF Book reviews from past issues
The World Food Economy. Second Edition. By Douglas Southgate,
Douglas H. Graham, and Luther Tweeten, John Wiley and Sons,
2007, 452 pp., $94.95/paper. Although environmentalists
forecasted imminent famine throughout the world in the early
1970s, recent headlines have been more focused on the
affordability of food. Unfortunately, reports from the United
Nations indicate that the price of food is still high: the food
price index of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
reached 238 in February 2011, the highest level since the agency
started releasing the index to the public in 2007. The rise in
food prices is due to a combination of bad weather in many parts
of the world, reducing supply, and robust economic growth in
emerging economies, driving up demand. Higher energy prices
resulting from political instability in the Middle East has
increased transportation costs, also adding to