It's one thing when I and a few others in the food media write about the precipitous rise of food prices and the resulting devastating effects. It's quite another when Princeton economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman does. Krugman articulates the problem clearly and cogently. People in developing countries are eating more meat. Krugman: "Since it takes about 700 calories' worth of animal feed to produce a 100-calorie piece of beef, this change in diet increases the overall demand for grains." The price of oil. As Krugman points out, "modern farming is highly energy-intensive." Also rising economic powers like China are now competing with old, big economies like ours for scarce resources, including oil and farmland. Also, the...
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In an op-ed piece in today's New York Times (which is unfortunately behind the Times paywall), noted economist and op-ed page columnist Paul Krugman blames the forces of deregulation (led by the late Milton Friedman) for our new "fear of eating" brought on by the rash of foodborne illness in this country....
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