World Food Shortage -- It's Here!

Over the past few years, most everyone to whom I've mentioned Peak Oil has rebutted with the hope biofuels offer. Though I've tried, I have yet to convince many of the biofuel downside.

Until now:

Driving these increases are a complex range of developments, including rapid urbanization of populations and growing demand for food stuffs in key developing countries such as China and India, speculation in the commodities markets, increased diversion of feedstock crops into the production of biofuels, and extreme weather conditions and other natural disasters associated with climate change. . . .

The food crisis is intensifying social discontent and raising the likelihood of social upheavals. The FAO notes that political unrest “directly linked to food markets” has developed in Morocco, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Guinea, Mauritania and Senegal. In the past year, cereal prices have triggered riots in several other countries, including Mexico, where tortilla prices were pushed up 60 percent. In Italy, the rising cost of pasta prompted nationwide protests. Unrest in China has also been linked to cooking oil shortages. (Emphasis mine)

And all this less than three years after peak oil extraction. Folks, the future looks bumpy.