The world is closer to a food crisis than most people realise | Lester R. Brown | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Time is running out. The world may be much closer to an unmanageable food shortage – replete with soaring food prices, spreading food unrest, and ultimately political instability– than most people realise.

2007: Lester Brown: Ethanol From Corn Is Not the Solution

In the announcement of their "100 Hour" agenda, Democrats targeted expanding research and investment in alternative energy as a key priority. This development is long overdue, and should be celebrated as a major step towards embracing a diversified 21st century energy economy.

The plan, however, has a major pitfall: an over-reliance on corn based ethanol. We need to make sure that in trying to solve one problem--our dependence on imported oil--we do not create a far more serious one: soaring grain prices and potential chaos in the world food economy.
...If the EPI estimate is at all close to the mark, the emerging competition between cars and people for grain will likely drive world grain prices to levels never seen before.

Dr Jane Lubchenco: Global conversation - YouTube

In this [63-minute] video Dr Jane Lubchenco takes part in a discussion with Professor Will Steffen and Dr Rob Vertessy in how climate change affects both the environment and human society.

Climate change’s costs hit the plate - The Globe and Mail

data clearly show that the frequency of extreme weather is soaring around the world...People may not care much about climate change, but most do care about the price of food because it affects their everyday lives. Fears about imperiled food security may be our best hope for breaking through widespread climate-change denial and generating the political pressure to do something, finally, about the problem.