One of the biggest economic stories of 2008 to affect most of the world, including the United States, is the exponential increase in feedstock, food, and other commodity prices. This phenomenon has induced the increased occurrence of food-related social, political, and business instability in many parts of the world. It is projected that across the board, food prices will go up at least 5 percent this year and will continue to rise during the next decade.

Pinpointing a particular cause for the recent spike in food prices has been attempted but to no avail. This is because the increasing food prices are not the result of any particular reason, but rather the synergy of multiple challenges impacting the food economy as a whole. Specifically, the price bubble witnessed today is caused by a simultaneous rise in end user demand, multiple shocks to supply, and changes in the external economic environment.

The rise of food feedstock prices is most prevalent when the consumer price indexes changes of various food products are more closely examined. The average price of vegetable oil has at least doubled in the last year and a half and the average price of rice has gone from just over $300 per ton to over $900 per ton in just one year. Primary food products such as meat, dairy and eggs are going up in price because animal feed prices are also rising due to the increasing demand for corn-based feed and the decreasing supply of corn and other grains availability for animal feeds. Specifically, egg prices spiked upward by 30 percent between March of 2007 and March of 2008 and milk prices had also risen by 11 percent during the same period. Chart 1.1 dramatically shows the one year percent change in consumer prices for selected food prices in the U.S. as of March 2008.