Q: Are you surprised at the price increases in wheat, corn, rice and other basic foodstuffs, some of which have tripled in just a few years?

A: I’m not surprised. The energy problem and the food problem are tangled up together. Many of the things that go into our food production system, like fuel for tractors and machines, and for fertilizer, have energy costs. Then there’s the transport system for delivering goods. In addition, there may be speculation also. It’s hard to isolate all of these factors. One change in government policy won’t rectify all of these interacting complications.

Q: Do you worry about food riots around the world if prices continue to rise?

A: This is going on already in a few of the hardest pressed countries. Hunger is a pretty great force, especially if a country has seen things getting better and now it’s going in another direction. People don’t want to lose this progress, so they react in strikes and civic disorders of various kinds.

Houston Chronicle