When hunger strikes

How many of history’s great revolutions were sparked by sheer, human hunger? In 2008, global food prices spiked, with the cost of basic crops doubling. In the two years that followed, Egyptians saw their food prices increase by some 40 per cent – in 2011, as we know, the Arab Spring broke across the Middle East, triggered by the self-immolation of a Tunisian food seller. How likely are such spates of unrest to happen again? Very likely, given that – due to the worst drought in the US in living memory – the price of wheat and maize have soared 50 per cent in past weeks, and the G20 may hold an emergency meeting on food very soon. We like to think of the Arab Spring as being the pure cry of an oppressed people for lofty ideals such as freedom, equality and democracy. That may be true, but what’s also true is that it’s equally a show of desperation from the starving masses.