The World's Biggest Challenge: Feeding Humanity

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The G-8 leaders took heat from Britain's Guardian newspaper this week for discussing the world's food crisis over a 19-dish dinner prepared by 25 chefs in Hokkaido, Japan. Meantime, the World Bank reported that 75% of the rise in food prices is due to bio-fuels. The rising prices of food and fuel are being called "the first real economic crisis of globalization." In the past three years, increased food costs have pushed 400 million into the ranks of the world's poorest, those who live on less than a dollar a day. Other factors include global warming, meat consumption, politics and financial speculation. We look at the worldwide food chain, stressed so thin that any disruption means it can't keep up with growing demand.

Credits

Guests:

  • Raj Patel - former Fellow; Institute for Food and Development Policy
  • Adam Lerrick - Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
  • Tom Slayton - Visiting Fellow, Center for Global Development
  • Josh Ruxin - Professor of Public Health, Columbia University

Host:

Warren Olney