The world food crisis of 2007-2008 was not, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, a product of not having enough food to feed the world, but rather the inability of poorer countries and families—at home and abroad—to afford the food due to the rising cost. In fact, in places such as Haiti, Kenya and close to 30 other countries, rioting literally broke out in the streets because people could no longer afford to feed their families. Even in Northern and Western countries, poorer families, who typically spend a higher percentage of their income on food, had to tighten their belts and, in some cases, do without.

And why?

Several reasons can be given for the world food crisis we experienced in 2007-2008, some within our control to change and some outside of it, but experts seem to agree that if the world community, including the United States, continues to remain ill-prepared to cope with these conditions and fails to make policy decisions to address them directly, we could be in for a crisis of an even larger scale. For instance, droughts in grain-rich nations such as Russia and volatile weather in parts of the Far East cannot be helped, but global warming theorists predict that they will become more instead of less frequent and the world needs to prepare for this.

Fuel costs also contributed substantially to the world food crisis, making it more expensive to grow, fertilize and transport food to consumers, and even though these costs have dropped from the levels we witnessed in 2007-2008, they are still much higher than they were in the period before this latest crisis began. Unless steps are taken to regulate fuel costs, thus making food more affordable to consumers, another crisis may be looming.

Ironically, one step that is being taken to help decrease our dependence on foreign oil and clean the environment—the development of biofuels—may be indirectly contributing to a rise in world commodity prices of various foods. In recent years, the demand for these biofuels has risen dramatically, which means more and more grain products are being used for the purpose of creating fuel rather than foodstuffs. And less food means more demand and higher prices. It is within the realm of possibility that increasing consumption of biofuels could lead to America's food crisis.

One area that has improved as the result of the world food crisis in 2007-2008 is the reserve of staple grains such as wheat and rice. However, this step alone is not nearly enough to ensure that we won’t find ourselves in the same predicament. Unless policies are enacted and enforced—by the United States and the rest of the world community—to ensure that greed and self-preservation does not get in the way of feeding every single person in the world, we will invariably find ourselves in the same position once again.