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The idea of food riots may sound odd to someone in a developed nation like America where food seems so plentiful, but in many areas around the world food is scarce and riots are commonplace. In an interview with Raj Patel, Amy Goodman points out the startling contradiction that in an age where obesity is an international problem there are 800 million people starving to death (democracynow.org).

Food riots have occurred in almost every corner of the world. Haiti recently experienced massive riots over food. In Africa there have been recent riots in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mauritania and Senegal according to Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved .

The drastic increase in global food prices further exacerbates the problem of food rioting Amy Goodman reports that "protests have been held in countries like Cambodia, Indonesia, Egypt" over the food crisis.

Several factors contribute to the food crisis. Free trade is a major culprit, where developing nations have been forced to reduce tariffs that would have otherwise protected farmers. This imported food has made farming unprofitable and the subsequent soar in food prices has made food expensive and scarce.

The rising food prices have pushed those already living in poverty into abject starvation. The food crisis is crippling to millions all over the world.

Fortunately, there are many things that can be done to avert a global food crisis:

According to the International Development Research Center (IDRC), in 1996 180 nations met for the World Food Summit (WFS). There they discussed ways to end hunger and pledged to reduce the number of undernourished people by half by 2015.

One of the first steps to averting the global food crisis is for every nation to commit to the goals of the WFS. Taking action on these issues "can take many forms, from promoting participatory plant breeding of staple crops as a means to conserve biodiversity and recognize farmers' knowledge, to supporting collaborative management of natural resources" (www.idrc.ca/en/ev-104444-201- 1-DO_TOPIC.html).

Further, innovative new approaches should be explored to handle the food crisis. Asia has proven a leader in this respect, exploring new strategies and techniques.

India

According to the IDRC, in India knowledge centers have been established in seven villages to provide market information to villagers. This system provides for information on market prices, government programs, and allows farmers to share information.

Singapore

According to

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