Global food prices have hit a record high, surpassing the previous records of two years ago when prices spiked sparking food riots across the globe. Abdolreza Abbassian is an economist at the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization.

Abdolreza Abbassian: “So this is really the concern we have here, that people look at the past and they say, 'Well, in the past, prices rose very fast, and they came down very fast, even in 2007 and ’08.' Well, situations have changed. The supply-demand structures have changed. And certainly the kind of weather developments we have seen makes us worry a little bit more that, well, it may last much, much longer. And are we prepared for it? Really, this is the question. And I think the December number, highlighting further strength, further firming of prices, simply, you know, underpins this concern.”