Paul Cezanne once observed, ‘The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.’ With rapid rises in the price of basic foods now leading to social instability in some areas, he may not be far off the mark. Governments are struggling to keep a lid on inflation, attempting to artificially control the prices for staples such as bread, dairy, maize and rice in the wake of public outcry. With an election looming in Russia, the Kremlin forced suppliers of milk and bread to freeze prices, while countries including India, Mexico and Yemen have experienced food riots. Several factors have contributed to these severe price hikes that have seen 18% inflation in China, 13% in Indonesia and upwards of 10% in India, Russia and Latin America, with the price of wheat and maize doubling over the past year and the cost of rice increasing by 20%. World cereal stocks are at their lowest in a decade, with about 57 days supply in reserve, meaning a significant natural disaster could have devastating effects. The increase in crops grown for use as biofuels may also have implications for the world’s food supply. With the rising cost of fossil fuel, more and more farmers are sending their produce to ethanol producers. This combination of price hikes for both food and oil sets the scene for an impending social crisis. Experts have predicted a number of possible outcomes. Optimists see the market adjusting to the price rises, passing them on to the farmer, making food production a more profitable venture than biofuels. New crops varieties could see food grown on previously unproductive land, while a slowdown in population growth might ease demand. On the other hand, intensifying climate change could see a reduction in food production through floods and drought. Further oil price rises will make the production and transport of food more expensive, and the exhaustion of fish stocks and fertile soil will further impact on the world’s food supply.