Published 13 July 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2403
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b2403

Analysis

Potential causes and health effects of rising global food prices

Karen Lock, senior lecturer in public health1, David Stuckler, research fellow 1,2, Kate Charlesworth, research fellow1, Martin McKee, professor of European public health1

1 ECOHOST, Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, 2 Department of Sociology, Oxford University and Christ Church, Oxford OX1 1DP

Correspondence to: K Lock karen.lock@lshtm.ac.uk

Editorial, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2527

High food prices affect not only our pockets but also our health. Karen Lock and colleagues examine the cause of recent increases and discuss what can be done to minimise harm

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Large increases in food prices have occurred at many times and in many places throughout history. The recent increases differ in their global reach and degree of volatility. Between January 2006 and July 2008 global food prices rose by an average of 75%, causing an estimated 75 million additional people to become undernourished worldwide. We evaluate how several factors have contributed to rising food prices and analyse the potential consequences of these rises for food security and public health. As food prices are predicted to remain high for several years, we discuss policy responses that could help secure an affordable, healthy global food supply.

Global food prices began to rise in 2003, but the rate of increase accelerated greatly in 2006, with prices reaching record highs in mid-2008 (fig 1Go).1 2 The 14% increase in 2006 in the commodity food price index, an index of major commodity prices weighted by . . . [Full text of this article]


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