1.  List the factors that have caused rapidly increasing food prices around the world.

2.  What do we need to do to prevent a worldwide crisis, according to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon?

3.  List some of the countries in which riots have taken place over the rising prices of rice and other staples.

4.  What must wealthier countries (the U.S. and others) do to prevent more widespread hunger, malnutrition and death, according to John Holmes of the U.N.'s Humanitarian Affairs office?

5.  a) How much money does the U.N. (with almost 25% of its funding coming from the U.S.) spend a year on the World Food Program?
b)  How many countries does the WFP currently help?
c)  How many people are currently on WFP food rations?
d)  How much extra money has the WFP asked for in an emergency appeal just to continue its existing programs?

6.  The use of biofuels in gasoline is one of the main reasons for rising demand of corn.  For how long could one person be fed on the amount of corn needed to make a few tanks of fuel?

7. The purpose of increasing the use of Biofuels - ethanol in gasoline - is to reduce U.S. need for oil, and to reduce the perceived effects that the use of gasoline has on the perceived global warming crisis.  The unintended consequence of attempts to improve the environment are higher food prices, which have contributed to the global food crisis.  Farmers are planting corn to sell for ethanol use.  This causes a rise in animal feed prices, which causes a rise in the price of meat and dairy products. (If it costs more for a farmer to feed his chickens or cattle, he will have to charge higher prices when selling his eggs, milk, beef, chicken, etc.) 
a) Who benefits from the government imposed use of ethanol?
b) Who gets hurt by the use of ethanol?
c) Should the U.S. government continue to mandate the amount of ethanol used in gasoline?  Explain your answer.