Thanks for the Newsweek article, JohninKansas. It has some good information. Some of the posts here show people aren't thinking. A few points that come to mind.
Drought and crop diseases have been an important cause of shortages the past couple of years; stocks have been depleted.
Diversion of crop land to more profitable crops cuts into production of rice and grain. In Sumatra, fields have been planted into coffee and other non-foods. (No one wants that cheap Brazilian field coffee any more- only the best will suit us). Other mis-use of land (biofuels, etc.) has been mentioned above.
Futures markets. When the traders smell a shortage, the price goes up. Is this method of handling foods from rice to pork bellies obsolete? This is gambling for profit, it does not build economies.
Fuel- There are still large reserves of both oil and natural gas; the problems are greed on the part of producers, OPEC and non-members who use OPEC as a guide to set product price, shortage of refineries, lack of transport, the commodities markets (same gambling for profit as with basic foods), failure of governments to cooperate in establishing reasonable market guidelines and profit levels, tax levels maintained at same percentage when prices go up. Fuel is perhaps the most mis-understood commodity at this time. Failure to get get together internationally hurts everyone, from the trucker who no longer can make a profit, to those in all forms of transportation, and those who manufacture most products, and everyone trying to heat their homes and cook their food....
Too many people. We condemn China for trying to control population, fail to condemn institutions that promote breeding and prohibit birth control.
Failure of education to prepare us for the globalized world, and protection of our world, the only home we have.