'Republican policies lead to high cost, food shortages'

From Chris at AmericaBlog. Be sure to check out the "'cheap' food" link.

This has been so painfully predictable and will likely be used as an excuse by the pro-Big Oil extremists who have no interest in moving away from there friends at Exxon. Giving financial incentives to corporate farmers to sell their product for energy instead of actual food has put consumers and the poor in a bidding war against energy. Even "cheap" food has become expensive. Now we are even seeing foreign aid to the poorest of the world being scaled back due to costs. It's unimaginable to most Westerners just how poor and in need people can be, almost always due to dynamics beyond their control. We really need to step back and think through new policies both for food and energy but don't expect the GOP to do this.

USAID officials said that a 41 percent surge in prices for wheat, corn, rice and other cereals over the past six months has generated a $120 million budget shortfall that will force the agency to reduce emergency operations. That deficit is projected to rise to $200 million by year's end. Prices have skyrocketed as more grains go to biofuel production or are consumed by such fast-emerging markets as China and India.