Afood riot is a riot in protest of a shortage and/or unequaldistribution of food. Historical causes have included rises infood prices,harvest failures, ineptfood storage, transport problems,food speculation,hoarding, poisoning of food, and attacks bypests.[1]
Studies of food riots have found that they are often preceded by conditions of economic desperation, at which point members of the public may attack shops, farms, homes, or government buildings to attainstaple foods such as bread, grain, or salt, as in the1977 Egyptian bread riots.[2] Historically, food riots are part of a larger social movement, such as theRussian Revolution or theFrench Revolution.[3] Historically, women have been heavily involved in leading food riots; food riots have thus served as a form of female political action even in societies without women'ssuffrage or other guaranteed political rights.[4]
During 2007–2008, a rise in global food prices led toriots in various countries. A similar crisis recurred in2010–2011.
Due to awheat crop failure in the mid-western United States because of drought in 2012, as well as simultaneous dryness during the start of the Russia's wheat season, a deficientmonsoon rainfall in India and a drought in Africa'sSahel region, predictions were made for a possible outbreak of protests and riots akin to previous years. Yaneer Bar-Yam, the president of theNew England Complex Systems Institute, said thatcomputer modelling suggested an outbreak of instability, while he also blamed the use of corn forethanol as exacerbating the problem. However, the director of trade and markets and theFood and Agriculture Organization, David Hallam, said that there was no imminent danger of such an outcome, though a worsening change in climate and government policies, such as export bans and panicked-buying, could trigger such a scenario.Oxfam added that a one percent increase in the price of food could lead to 16 million more falling below the poverty line.[5] TheInternational Food Policy Research Institute's Director-GeneralShenggen Fan suggested a global crisis could "hit us very soon. [Using corn for ethanol] actually pushed global food prices higher and many poor people, particularly women and children, have suffered."[6]
Reports of events leading to the2007–08 world food price crisis illustrate that it is challenging to find a single causal factor for food riots and highlights the need to multiple pre-emptive strategies to be adopted in different context given that food prices are said to remain volatile[7] in the coming years. International commentators focusing on Africa have associated the riots with poverty and hunger hence the call to explore strategies to boost productivity and lower food prices.[8] Yet on-the-ground reports highlight that the riots were driven by multiple factors coming together such as popular dissatisfaction with socioeconomic and political situation of the country and the availability of social media that helped rioters to mobilize.[9] In this case some have called for broader structural changes to improve employment, equality and address social injustices.[10]
InVenezuela, the steep fall in oil prices hit the economy hard in the 2010s. With a high rate of inflation (set to top 1,600% in 2017),[11] the destruction of Venezuela´s industrial base has led to afamine in many parts of the country.[12][13][14]
Protests inSouth Africa in July 2021 that initially began as a response to the arrest of former presidentJacob Zuma quickly escalated intonationwide riots and looting of supermarkets and shopping malls.[15] The expanded scope of the unrest, that had followed a record economic downturn and increasing unemployment from theCOVID-19 pandemic, has been described as food riots.[16][17][18]
