A Hungry man is Indeed an Angry man, but blame not the Gomen of the day for price increase

Bad news folks Food prices are set to go up and up without any signs of abating since early 2009, prices are not helped by the horrible Australian floods which destroyed farmlands 2010, Droughts and Fire decimate Russia's farmland middle 2010, Pakistan fertile plains hit by monsoon at the end of 2010. For the first time in world history in 2009, the number of hungry people topped 1 billion.

The rising food prices have pushed millions of people to poverty and hunger and even spark a revolution on the Arab Streets, the Presidents of Algeria and Egypt were forced out of office and turmoil continues in Libya and Syria and the Gulf states. Hunger can spark anger in a man like no other and drive him to do crazy things.

Example:

A poor family spends 70% of their income on food and 30% for other needs (medicine, schools, rent, clothings)

if food prices go up

A poor family  spends up to 85% of their income on food and 15% for other needs (medicine, schools, rent, clothings)

When food take up most of the  income for the family, the "other needs" will have to be reduced with dire consequences obviously.

Click here for clearer picture of infographics. 

Click here to see World Hunger Map 2011

MORE HUNGER STATS

• • 925 million people do not have enough to eat  and 98 percent of them live in developing countries.(Source: FAO news release, 14 September 2010)
  • Asia and the Pacific region is home to over half the world’s population and nearly two thirds of the world’s hungry people;
    
    (Source: FAO news release, 2010)
  • Women make up a little over half of the world's population, but they account for over 60 percent of the world’s hungry.
    (Source:  Strengthening efforts to eradicate hunger..., ECOSOC, 2007)
  • 65 percent  of the world's hungry live in only seven countries: India, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia. 
    (Source: FAO news release, 2010)
    
  • Undernutrition contributes to five million deaths of children under five each year in developing countries.
    (Source: Under five deaths by cause, UNICEF, 2006)
  • One out of four children - roughly 146 million - in developing countries is underweight
    (Source: The State of the World's Children, UNICEF, 2007)
  • More than 70 percent of the world's underweight children (aged five or less) live in just 10 countries, with more than 50 per cent located in South Asia alone; 
    (Source: Progress for Children: A Report Card on Nutrition, UNICEF, 2006)
  • 10.9 million children under five die in developing countries each year. Malnutrition and hunger-related diseases cause 60 percent of the deaths;
    (Source: The State of the World's Children, UNICEF, 2007)
  • Iron deficiency is the most prevalent form of malnutrition worldwide, affecting an estimated 2 billion people. Eradicating iron deficiency can improve national productivity levels by as much as 20 percent.
    (Source:  World Health Organization, WHO Global Database on Anaemia)
  • Iodine deficiency is the greatest single cause of mental retardation and brain damage, affecting 1.9 billion people worldwide. It can easily be prevented by adding iodine to salt.
    (Source:  World Nutrition Situation 5th report ,UN Standing Committee on Nutrition2005)

A hungry Man is indeed a Angry Man. Let all leaders and Goverments of sovereign States beware of this.

Malaysia is a blessed country, definitely citizens will not go out to demonstrate against the Government because they are hungry.

Some of course would complain with merit because they have to spend less on the other things in life beside eating, some like the Leaders of PKR,DAP and PAS would complain for political capital, as if, they get elected they can make the world to bring  food prices down, but like the rising water tide, the Worldwide rising price for food is not controlled by a tiny but blessed nation called Malaysia with only 28 million people and hence our "try to be nice to all"  Gomen is caught between whether to give too much subsidy for food or utilizing the expenditures for subsidy for development.

How the Gomen manage the  inevitable price increase will determine how much support the Gomen can get in the next PRU13, the Gomen should balance any reduction in subsidies for food by also reviewing the humongous IPP Gas subsidies as well. Malaysians wait in nervous anticipation of the price increase.