Sep 27, 2012
Environmental
analyst Lester R. Brown discusses the global struggle for food
security and other themes in his new book, Full Planet, Empty Plates:
The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity. The U.S. Great
Drought of 2012 has raised corn prices to the highest level in
history. The world price of food, which has already doubled over
the last decade, is slated to climb higher, ushering in a new wave
of food unrest. “In this era of tightening world food supplies, the
ability to grow food is fast becoming a new form of geopolitical
leverage. Food is the new oil. Land is the new gold,” Brown writes.
He explains the factors leading to higher demand for food and the
new challenges to food production in the U.S. and
worldwide.