If you listen to the big city editorial pages, you will find it is all your fault.  Yes.  You farmers.  Your fault.

*    Farmers were responsible for all the overproduction.  What previously was callled a sound carry-over supply became over production.  The Farm Bill subsidized you, so you produced too much, so prices were low.  And you were too inefficient to stay in business with low prices.  Odd.  Because you were so highly subsidized and getting rich.  Never mind.

*   Now, farmers are responsible for all the underproduction.  Carry over supply is back in vogue.  And we should have it.  Food bills are high, food riots occur in poor countries, and its your fault. 

Never mind that $120/barrel oil.  Never mind the retail supermarket concentration causing a high farm to retail price spread.  

According to the National Farmers Union, "in the last seven years, gasoline prices have increased 198 percent, diesel fuel has increased almost 250 percent and crude oil has increased 453 percent."

China and India are growing in wealth, oil demand, and food demand. Fertilizer costs skyrocket.  Transportation costs are going through the roof.  The U.S. dollar is falling. 

Trade liberalisation around the world, advised by the Very.Serious.People in DC and elsewhere, eliminated farm subsidies in other countries, too.  Nigerian farmers used to produce enough food for their country - food people actually could eat - and exported to neighboring countries.  The Very.Smart.People. at the IMF and supportive think tanks convinced Nigeria to liberalise trade, get rid of the subsidies and focus on exports.  Now they have hunger.  Even before this year.  The farmers went out of business, migrated to the city, and set up shacks in the slums. Good idea.

Ask the international peasant farmer movement, Via Campesina, if Nigeria is an isolated case.  Not. 

Why have a food policy when trade policy takes care of everything?

But its your fault.  You darned farmers.