Food Crisis: Old Ideas Still Valid

Continuing the discussion about the causes of the food crisis and what the appropriate role of governments should be requires some reference to this dated but largely sound piece at the Foundation for Economic Education. E.C. Pasour argues argues cogently against the fallacy of that "Malthusian Spectre" and the danger that governments may react by restricting trade in food through price controls and control on land sizes.

Since it is three decades since this article was written, one would hope that the lessons have been learned. My worry though is that the worst ideas come to the fore at such times because of the inescapable panic that result from an increase in food prices. No need to preempt the piece but it makes the clear argument that reduction in the property rights of producers of food through uninformed state intervention causes a reduction in supply. Adding the point stated by Amartya Sen in the book Poverty and Famines, he reiterates that contrary to popular contention starvation and hunger are not necessarily the results of a reduction in supply of food but often the inability to purchase adequate food supplies. essentially therefore, hunger is best viewed as a problem of income.