Global Food Price Hikes Decrease Stability Of Governments

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Spiraling food prices across the globe threaten not only the lives and health of individuals but the stability of governments and if the crisis worsens anarchy could result, experts say.

Last century hunger triggered anarchy in Russia, resulting in the 1917 February Revolution that brought down Tsar Nicholas II.

In testimony before the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this week, the executive director of the United Nations World Food Program called rising food prices one of the most pressing global issues of our time.

Josette Sheeran told the Committee that some experts say there are only seven meals between civilization and anarchy, because when people miss seven meals the most important thing becomes surviving and keeping their children alive.

However, despite food prices going up around the world, not every country or region has been affected the same way.

While global food inflation reached 43 percent in the 12 months that ended in March, food inflation was only 4.5 percent in the U.S. for that time period. The reason for that is Americans eat more processed foods and restaurant meals than people in other countries do, so food prices in the U.S. include more labor charges and those haven't increased the way basic food prices have, according to reports.

But there are other differences in food price increases around the world as well.

For instance, Russia experienced a 6.5 percent hike in the price of food during April compared to a 1.8 percent increase in the rest of Europe, according to Radio Free Europe reports.

But even within Russia there were differences in food inflation with prices of bread, milk and meat rising anywhere from 7 percent to 22 percent so far this year in different regions of the country.

That makes inflation the No. 1 concern of Russian citizens and with the country's history of hunger-triggered anarchy the Kremlin is taking steps to control the problem. It has appointed a special commission on inflation that will report on food prices across the country on a weekly basis.

In addition, officials are preparing a new "food-security" law to replace the price freeze law that expired April 30. The new law would fix the prices of seven "socially important" commodities indefinitely, Radio Free Europe reports.