Who say TSUNAMI?

I have posted about the current 'World Food Crisis' that our leaders apparently didnt foresee... and well I saw a headline today that stood out from the rest...

Food Crisis Is Depicted As
'Silent Tsunami'
Sharp Price Hikes Leave Many
Millions in Hunger

"Hunger is a moral challenge to each one of us as global citizens, but it is also a threat to the political and economic stability of poor nations around the world,"

"With one child dying every five seconds from hunger-related causes, the time to act is now,"

Holding up the kind of plastic cup that the WFP uses to feed millions of children, Sheeran told reporters that the price of a metric ton of rice in parts of Asia had risen from $460 to $1,000 in less than two months.

I went to the grocery yesterday and there were signs asking consumers to take one bag of Flour/Rice... they only had 10Kg bags on offer anyway... no 5lbs bags were available... and it cost TT$12 MORE THAN THE PREVIOUS MONTH... AN INCREASE OF 25%... so i wonder what is the markup being used by the Supermarket?... can somebody at NFM tell us the price they selling at... i could do simple math...

I left all the luxury items in the grocery and still spent TT$1000... and I eh buy any fruits, vegetables or rice... I even try to buy in bulk but some of the items more expensive when I did the math... imagine that... the market will hopefully provide the fruits and vegetables at a cheaper rate... no I can't grow anything in a Grow Box... I eh have a front or backyard...

I really wonder how people who earn less than me survive...

In some parts of the world, Sheeran said, the WFP needs to provide food to people who have none. In other countries, she said, food is plentiful but prices have risen so much that people cannot afford it. She said the WFP is considering programs in those countries to provide cash assistance or emergency food vouchers.

Food experts have said such programs could help lower domestic food prices without hurting local farmers -- the kind of balance Sheeran said WFP officials are trying to strike as they deal with a crisis that has different faces in different parts of the world.

In contrast to the WFP position... 'Our' own Government, through Consumer Affairs Minister Peter Taylor, still can't understand the WHY? factor...

"Why should the price of soft drink at the retail end increase from $3 to $5 in the space of a mere four months? Why should the price of indigenous foods such as doubles and bake and shark increase by 75 per cent in the space of three months, when there has not been a corresponding increase in the price of raw materials and other inputs such as labour, equipment and overheads to this extent?"

"This Government therefore serves fair notice to all concerned that it will not hesitate to implement necessary legislation, as it is empowered to do, to discourage any such adverse trade practices which are inimical to the best interests of consumers," Taylor threatened.

I wonder why he didn't just lay the legislation instead of making a speech to do it... we all know that words are just words...

amm... where is the Minister of Agriculture in all this... is this only about the prices at the grocery/market... we cant wait six months for the Cubans to come and plant... we have farmers here... do we need to get all of our labour from foreign... i know i write bout dat before...