The food crisis is an extremely complex issue. This guide is designed to briefly highlight a few significant factors and give you a general understanding of the problem in five minutes or less.

Minute 1: What is the Problem?
The cost of food has skyrocketed in an alarmingly short period of time.

• The UN food index, a measure of the cost of food, is up more than 45 per cent since 2006.
• Wheat prices have risen by more than 100 per cent in the last year, corn prices have risen by 66 per cent. The cost of rice has more than doubled since the end of 2007.
• To deliver the same amount of food that it did in 2007, the World Food Programme—a key World Vision partner in food distribution—will need to spend an additional $700 million this year.

Minute 2: Who is Affected?
It is not unusual for families in poor countries to spend as much as 75 per cent of their income on food. Price increases have a devastating effect on these families.

• Those living on $2 per day have to cut back on nutritious foods such as vegetables just to afford basics such as rice.
• Those living on $1 per day (more than one billion people worldwide) are forced to eliminate one or two of their daily meals.
• Those living on $0.50 per day are struggling to eat at all, often eating only a few times per week.

Minute 3: Where is This Being Felt?
The effects of this crisis can be seen all around the world. Below are just a few areas where the crisis has become apparent.

• Haiti: protests by hungry crowds turned violent, killing at least five people and prompting the president to call on lawmakers to cut food taxes.
• Thailand: farmers are arming themselves to protect their crops from looters.
• Sudan: World Food Programme trucks have been ambushed by thieves. Since the beginning of this year, two attacks have been fatal.

Minute 4: Why is This Happening?
This crisis is much more than a local famine. The causes are complex and wide ranging, and include:

• Rise in grain prices: speculators have been invested in grains, driving the price of wheat, soybeans, corn and rice to all-time highs.
• Low grain reserves: due to poor harvests over the last several years, government and private wheat reserves are extremely low.
• Rising price of oil: costs for agricultural production, petroleum-based fertilizers and crop transportation have risen steeply.
• Demand for ethanol: high prices for this corn-based fuel mean that growing crops for fuel is now more profitable than growing food for people

Minute 5: How World Vision is Tackling the Crisis
While there are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis, World Vision is responding with a two-pronged approach that addresses both short- and long-term needs.