The cost of food

Millions of Egyptian families rely on subsidised bread

Global food prices have risen - in some cases quite substantially - in recent months.

And the price hikes hurt some more than others.

For some in the developing world, the equation is simple: poor harvests, plus higher prices for basic commodities, plus more mouths to feed, equals a life of despair for many.

Wheat has been the focus of this particular crisis.

Its prices have doubled since this time last year, partly because of poor harvest all around the world.

The BBC's Nick Bryant took a trip on a helicopter to investigate how crop failures in Australia are affecting us all.

Listen Listen to Nick Bryant

Increasing food and energy prices are placing a huge strain on the budgets of countries like Egypt, which subsidise prices for their consumers.

Egypt has been forced to increase dramatically its spending on subsidies to US $14bn this year in order to shield its population from the impact of international price hikes.

With widespread poverty, the risk of social unrest sparked by high prices is never far from the government's mind.

Heba Saleh reports from Cairo.

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There have been worries, going back 200 years, about whether enough food can be grown to meet the demands of an ever increasing population.

So far, they have proved groundless.

But Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University in London, told the World Today's George Arney that this time he feared the world could be in serious trouble.

Listen Listen to Tim Lang

The BBC's Ian Pannell spoke to the head of the UN's food agency, Jacques Diouf, and asked him how bad he thought the situation was:

Listen Listen to Jacques Diouf

Full coverage of the impact of the global food crisis can be found on the BBC News website here

First broadcast 11 March