Learning from the past, looking to the future

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The high and volatile agricultural commodity prices of 2007 and ’08 and 2010 and ’11 have given crop farmers relief from years of low and often below-the-cost-of-production prices, but they also have resulted in food riots around the world and a major jump in the number of persons experiencing chronic hunger — from approximately 850 million people to more than 1 billion people. By far, the most devastating effect has been felt in developing countries, particularly the least developed among them.

By: Daryll E. Ray and Harwood D. Schaffer,