Food prices driving global instability
One trigger of the recent instability in the Middle East is the price of food, something the Food and Agriculture Organization said hit near record levels in January. Several months ago as part of our Gallup Global Top Fives, we identified the five most food insecure countries (Egypt and Tunisia did not make the list). If the trend line above continues upward, it's possible a few more regimes will come under intense pressure from their disgruntled citizenry.
[Hat tip: Mark Leon Goldberg]