Food prices shot up 36 percent in the last year, according to the World Bank, adding 44 million people to the ranks of the impoverished. For people who spend most of their money on food, it’s devastating when the price of maize, to take one example, goes up 74 percent as it did this year.

High food prices may be caused by fuel and water shortages.

As Sandra Postel, head of the National Geographic’s freshwater initiative, told us on this week’s Truthdig Radio, 70 percent of our water goes into agriculture and because water is difficult to transport, local water shortages cause food prices to increase as countries are forced to buy the food they can’t grow. — PZS

BBC:

World food prices are 36% above levels of a year ago, driven by problems in the Middle East and North Africa, and remain volatile, the bank said.

That has pushed 44 million people into poverty since last June.

A further 10% rise would push 10m more below the extreme poverty line of $1.25 (76p) a day, the bank said.

Read more