Global prices for food staples have risen dramatically, resulting in protests and unrest around the world.
What factors are driving prices up, and can they be tamed? What will the political fallout be for governments that fail to act, and what role can global institutions play?
Bio
Ralph J. Begleiter
Ralph Begleiter brings more than 30 years of broadcast journalism experience to the University of Delaware, where he teaches communication, journalism, and political science. During two decades as CNN's śworld affairs correspondent, Begleiter was the network's most widely-traveled reporter.
He has visited some 95 countries on 6 continents. He continues to travel, with university students to Cuba, South America, Turkey and Antarctica, and conducting media workshops in several countries under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State.
In 1998, Begleiter wrote and anchored a 24-part series on the Cold War. He covered many historic events at the end of the 20th century, including virtually every high-level Soviet/Russian-American meeting; the Persian Gulf Crisis in 1990-91; the Dayton Bosnia Accords; and Middle East Peace efforts.
He has received numerous press awards including, in 1994, the Weintal Prize from Georgetown University's Graduate School of Foreign Service, one of diplomatic reporting's highest honors.
Dr Lester R Brown
Dr. Lester Brown is the President and founder of the Earth Policy Institute and a founder of the Worldwatch Institute. He also is the author of more than 50 books and papers including Plan B 2.0 and Who Will Feed China?
Joachim von Braun
Joachim von Braun has been director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) since 2002. He guides and oversees the Institute's efforts to provide research-based sustainable solutions for ending hunger and malnutrition.
Under his leadership, IFPRI has continued to grow in food policy related strategy and governance, technology policy, markets, and health nutrition policy, and has significantly expanded its teams based in Africa, Asia, and Latin America in response to research challenges and partners' needs.
Before coming to IFPRI, von Braun was director of the Center for Development Research (ZEF) and professor of Economics and Technological Change at the University of Bonn. He was also professor of Food Economics and Policy at Kiel University, Germany. He received his doctoral degree in agricultural economics from the University of Goettingen, Germany in 1978.
Agriculture operated by business; specifically, that part of a modern national economy devoted to the production, processing, and distribution of food and fibre products and byproducts. Commercial farming has largely supplanted the family farm in production of cash crops. Some food-processing firms that operate farms have begun to market fresh produce under their brand names. In recent years, conglomerates involved in nonagricultural businesses have entered agribusiness by buying and operating large farms.
Of course I think that this is a big problem. But we should look at this from another point of view.
People basically, if they want to live in cities, have to work to get food. At least others in countryside do, they grow their own vegetables, fruit, raise animals.
There is no space for 2x human beings that live now on this planet. We need at least to live intelligently. Ray W. the diy home solar panels optimist.
I believe the food issue is a great topic in a globalized world where the liders plan and concern over an agenda full of biases and political debates. I think that we need to focus on the need of food in countries like Somalia, Congo, and the oters of Africa where population have almost nothing to eat, where children die because of the lack of an elementary need. We should not leave them in poverty and hunger.
member. 
