Rice and Wrong: Food Costs Flummox

Fortunately, I haven't heard of any food riots in the U.S. -- at least not yet -- but that doesn't mean that people aren't hurting. The average price of a dozen large eggs was $2.20 last month, compared with $1.64 during the same time last year, and just $1.30 in 2006, according to the consumer price index. That's a startling 69% increase in two years.

Obviously, chickens have to eat too, and their feed is more expensive. Fuel-based distribution costs exacerbate the problem. Eggs are an ingredient in a broad range of products -- from baked goods to frozen meals -- so that 69% increase is passed along to you. The price of white bread has also increased 30% since 2006, to $1.35 from $1.04 for a one-pound loaf. My family can easily go through a loaf of bread during the course of one meal.

Fortunately, my family can manage to suck up the extra cost of food -- and gas -- by making cuts elsewhere. Maybe we'll forego a movie or a few restaurant meals. In the worst-case scenario, we can even eat a little less and shed a few unwanted pounds. But in developing countries such as Haiti and Yemen, the crisis often means the difference between survival and starvation.

Perhaps we, as individuals, can't personally eliminate the political conditions and poverty that interfere with food production and availability in developing countries. But I think we can collectively play a role in influencing food prices from our own backyards.

The most obvious solution, I think, is to use less fuel and consider alternative-energy vehicles -- which both seem more appealing as gas prices head to $4 a gallon, possibly by summertime. Ethanol mandates may be only one of several factors affecting food prices -- but why should our country's driving habits and lust for SUVs contribute to more costly necessities for the world's poor?