Growth effect

[AtW]

The primary causes are rising population and all the others pointed out above (i.e. in every reply except yours).

Yes and oil gone up from $30 to $100 in two years because a lot more people started driving cars.

[OwlHoot]

Look, it's like this - The Fed and other Central Banks are printing money like no tomorrow.

Those who get their hands on the money (banks who use tulipe securities as collateral) have a choice:

1) lend at 5-7% to businesses
2) pile into commodities and make 50-70% a year

WTF do you think they'd do with newly printed money??!?!

All that financial jiggery pokery involving perishable commodities is self-limiting, and thus a secondary and temporary cause of rising food prices. In the end they must still sell to the highest bidder (and within a limited time) whatever food is available, unless you're suggesting those evil spekulants are letting millions of tons of food rot in their warehouses to keep the prices artificially high.

The primary causes are rising population and all the others pointed out above (i.e. in every reply except yours).

[AtW]

Look, it's like this - The Fed and other Central Banks are printing money like no tomorrow.

Those who get their hands on the money (banks who use tulipe securities as collateral) have a choice:

1) lend at 5-7% to businesses
2) pile into commodities and make 50-70% a year

WTF do you think they'd do with newly printed money??!?!

[amcdonald]

Swapping food crops for growing biofuels is the problem, it's all the warmists fault

[RichardCranium]

Incidentally, average global food prices have risen every year for the past nine years, but the last two years have been particularly steep as production is not meeting demand.

[MarillionFan]

And in other news: antisocial gimp Russian living in a Brum bedsit with no knowledge of statistical principles and obtaining knowledge from data, makes silly assumptions when criticizing Fed chairman.

Move on - nothing to see here!

Well known fact that he logs in specifically to read the words of wisdom of our Russian Economic Guru.

I hear he's recommending sofa's in the US.

[RichardCranium]

The World Service covers this in detail, frequently.

There is a global food shortage caused by bad weather in 2009 and 2010. That has raised prices.

It is not about oil or exchange rates. Just tulipty weather.

[sasguru]

And in other news: antisocial gimp Russian living in a Brum bedsit with no knowledge of statistical principles and obtaining knowledge from data, makes silly assumptions when criticizing Fed chairman.

Move on - nothing to see here!

[AtW]

Mr Bernanke said that the rapid growth of developing economies was behind the increase in food prices, rather than the Fed’s decision to embark on a second, $600bn (£371bn) round of printing money. “Clearly what’s happening is not a dollar effect, it’s a growth effect,” Mr Bernanke said in a rare question and answer session with journalists at the National Press Club in Washington on Thursday.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) has warned that high prices, already above levels in 2008 which sparked riots, were likely to rise further.

More of this tulip from the source: Fed chief Ben Bernanke denies US policy behind record global food prices - Telegraph