Food price soaring worldwide

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080324/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/fighting_for_food;_ylt=AoAWPezKroLxktJxGafLe_C3IxIF

Since part of the discussion for this week is about the cost-benefit of economic development vs. land preservation, I found this article somewhat apropos.

According to agricultural experts, the price of food has been rising due to freak weather, increased consumer demand in India and China, higher oil prices, and depleted food reserves. The price of spaghetti, for example, doubled to fifty-seven cents in Haiti. But food worldwide is undergoing a similar upward shift; according to the same experts, they are expected to stay at higher prices for at least 10 years.

This relates to Latin America in that if they are able to produce more goods, they can capitalize on the increased demand and make a much greater profit. Even if production were to remain the same, they could still see more money coming their way. This could lead to further development of the land in order to make crop production more feasible, as well as possibly starting a boom cycle in the Latin American economy.