The biggest threat to the world economy isn't the sub-prime crisis. Nor is it the credit crunch or the US recession. It's food.

Food prices are soaring. Not since the early 1970s have we seen wheat prices jump so dramatically. Rice prices have also spiked upwards. For the rich developed countries, the rise in food prices is, so far, not much more than a minor inconvenience. For other nations, though, the recent gains in food prices threaten severe economic and social distress. Rice, after all, is the staple food for half of the world's population. What should they do if prices suddenly go through the roof? This is a really good analysis, by Stephen King, of the demand, supply and policy factors behind this dramatic rise in world food prices and its potential impact.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king/stephen-king-food-protectionism-could-provoke-a-crisis-on-a-par-with-1970s-oil-shocks-812753.html