India's Plan For Feeding the Poor

India has decided to fight hunger by possibly banning lavish weddings. As many of us know, Indians go all out on their weddings with ornate venues and dresses and, of course, an extravagant feast. As the Indian economy continues to grow, high inflation is becoming a problem. Food prices are soaring and taking a serious toll on India's poor. Maybe if they stopped spending so much money on their crazy parties, these food prices would drop?

Click here to check out the full article.

- Ann

The Rise of Corn and its Global Economic Effects

It seems as though we have underestimated the power of corn. As corn grows as the leading crop in America, its worldwide effects are also growing. As environmental author Paul Roberts explains, the rise of corn prices and its effects can be ascribed to the rise in use of corn itself. Corn has taken over our food industry at the expense of other crops, and people around the world are suffering for it. Roberts comments that, as most Americans are able to afford a rise in corn prices, other economies which rely more on corn may not be able to handle these new conditions.

Take a look at Roberts' speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ws3iGja4LA

Wally World enters Africa

It looks like Walmart is making its first inroads into the wild frontier of world markets, Africa. Two weeks ago South Africa's Competition Commission approved the company's purchase of a 51% stake in South Africa's largest food retailer, Massmart. Though largely approved by Massmart's shareholders, the deal has attracted the ire of The South African Congress of Trade Unions which promises "the mother of all boycotts" should the deal go through. For $2.3 billion it appears Walmart has opened the door to the wild new frontier of African commercial markets, as well as a dominating position over the food producers of the continent. Facing the vast resources of a multinational corporation, the other domestic food retailers of South Africa stand little chance of survival in the longterm. http://www.economist.com/node/18185732?story_id=18185732

Food That's Good For Your Belly and Your Wallet

This list is awesome; it's basically a list of healthy options one can find at cheap restaurant chains like IHOP, McDonalds, Panera, and Subway. They are all breakfast items, which are great for people who have to make it to class on time and spend their lunches writing precis' and process analysis papers. Most of the time,fast food breakfast items are eaten solely for their convenience and price rather than actual nutritional value, but these items could change that perspective and open up a whole new market to fast food chains. Sure this blog is mostly about the economics of the world and how it effects food, but this is relative to the economic situations of everybody. I haven't actually eaten any of these items, but they don't look disgusting, they are cheap, and most importantly, they are good for you.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/02/18/fast.food.breakfast.health/index.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bjoreman/4121813330/sizes/m/in/photostream/

School Lunch Programs might be able to break the poverty cylce...

I found this article last night about how families across the world are suffering from food insecurities. Recent studies have found that schools that provide meals for their students are fighting poverty at home. Since many teenagers are lacking essential goods at home, schools provide one thing that their families may not be able to constantly afford: lunch.

http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/nm/us_school_lunch