The Economics of Food: How Feeding and Fueling the Planet Affects Food Prices
本书聚焦2005-2009年食品价格暴涨，分析生物燃料、能源价格、政府政策、天气、收入增长、汇率和投机等关键因素，适合关注食品价格波动的学者和政策制定者。
This book is a welcome effort to examine the key reasons behind the 2005–2009 food price boom. As the author acknowledges early on, ‘Given the size and complexity of the world food system, the list of forces that determine the price of food is incredibly long. This book is not intended to examine every aspect of the issue, but instead focuses on a few of the most important factors.’ (p. 3). The first seven chapters of the book cover the role of biofuels, energy prices, government policies, weather, income growth and changing diets, $US exchange rate, and speculation. The penultimate chapter focuses on some less known factors, such as animal diseases. The book concludes with some long-term issues. The seven chapters follow a similar pattern. Each begins with a brief overview, followed by the 2005–2009 experience. It then offers the views of various parties (often conflicting), and concludes by discussing the complexity of the issue.