2008 Woodie Awards
Rising food prices have deadly consequences
Landry Haarmann
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: World
In the last year, the UN has reported a 50 percent increase in the price of basic foods such as fruits, beans and grain.
The sharp rise in food prices has had terrible consequences in the Haiti, where, according to BBC News, food riots have left 20 people wounded and 5 dead.
The food riots turned deadly on April 5, when U.N. Peacekeepers, facing rampaging protestors who were looting shops, blocking roads and shooting Peacekeepers, shot back at armed rioters in the town of Les Cayes (Haiti), according to BBC News.
The fifth casualty, a U.N. Peacekeeper, was shot and killed by rioters in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, according to ABC News.
The food crisis in Haiti threatens the country's stability according to a report released by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Haiti already faces severe poverty issues without the added pressure of rising food prices. Around 80 percent of the countries population lives on $2 a day. Sophomore Elissa Hachmeister, who spent spring break in Haiti on a volunteer trip, was shocked by the poverty she saw while there.
"The capital city, even in the nicer parts of Port-au-Prince where we stayed, the basic infrastructure was still underdeveloped," Hachmeister said. "There were huge concerns about water supply and contamination, horrible roads. Because of the poverty, hunger always seemed to be a concern in Haiti."
Haiti is racked by high inflation and a large trade deficit; 80 percent of Haitians live beneath the poverty line and another 45 percent live in abject poverty.
Junior John Rock, who also visited Haiti over spring break on the same volunteer trip, was shocked by the price of food.
"The price of food in Haitian supermarkets is more expensive than in American supermarkets," Rock said.
Hachmeister was equally stunned by the price of food in Haiti.
"It's disturbing when the average yearly income in Haiti is only $270, but the price of food isn't too dissimilar from the price of food at home," Hachmeister said.
The sharp rise in food prices has had terrible consequences in the Haiti, where, according to BBC News, food riots have left 20 people wounded and 5 dead.
The food riots turned deadly on April 5, when U.N. Peacekeepers, facing rampaging protestors who were looting shops, blocking roads and shooting Peacekeepers, shot back at armed rioters in the town of Les Cayes (Haiti), according to BBC News.
The fifth casualty, a U.N. Peacekeeper, was shot and killed by rioters in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, according to ABC News.
The food crisis in Haiti threatens the country's stability according to a report released by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Haiti already faces severe poverty issues without the added pressure of rising food prices. Around 80 percent of the countries population lives on $2 a day. Sophomore Elissa Hachmeister, who spent spring break in Haiti on a volunteer trip, was shocked by the poverty she saw while there.
"The capital city, even in the nicer parts of Port-au-Prince where we stayed, the basic infrastructure was still underdeveloped," Hachmeister said. "There were huge concerns about water supply and contamination, horrible roads. Because of the poverty, hunger always seemed to be a concern in Haiti."
Haiti is racked by high inflation and a large trade deficit; 80 percent of Haitians live beneath the poverty line and another 45 percent live in abject poverty.
Junior John Rock, who also visited Haiti over spring break on the same volunteer trip, was shocked by the price of food.
"The price of food in Haitian supermarkets is more expensive than in American supermarkets," Rock said.
Hachmeister was equally stunned by the price of food in Haiti.
"It's disturbing when the average yearly income in Haiti is only $270, but the price of food isn't too dissimilar from the price of food at home," Hachmeister said.
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