How severe weather impacts global food supply

By Dave Gilbert, CNN

Updated 1453 GMT (2253 HKT) December 5, 2012

The UK's wettest summer in a century resulted in low yields and poor quality grain. Elsewhere the U.S. MidWest suffered a drought.
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Impact of global food price increases – The UK's wettest summer in a century resulted in low yields and poor quality grain. Elsewhere the U.S. MidWest suffered a drought.
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Yemeni Jaria Faraj Ali: We have to go begging now. Because of hunger we sometimes tie a scarf around our waist.
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Impact of global food price increases – Yemeni Jaria Faraj Ali: We have to go begging now. Because of hunger we sometimes tie a scarf around our waist.
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Yemeni mother Saeeda Mohammed Ismail: One month ago, we had two days without any food but then we borrowed bread from a neighbour.
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Impact of global food price increases – Yemeni mother Saeeda Mohammed Ismail: One month ago, we had two days without any food but then we borrowed bread from a neighbour.
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Inés Yoc from Guatemala: Today food is not eaten in the same quantity and quality as it was years ago, when you would buy five pounds of vegetables. Now, we can only buy two pounds.
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Impact of global food price increases – Inés Yoc from Guatemala: Today food is not eaten in the same quantity and quality as it was years ago, when you would buy five pounds of vegetables. Now, we can only buy two pounds.
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Yemeni shopkeeper Ala'a Abdullah Farag Wans: I worry one day that I'll go out of business because my customers can't pay me back.
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Impact of global food price increases – Yemeni shopkeeper Ala'a Abdullah Farag Wans: I worry one day that I'll go out of business because my customers can't pay me back.
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Peruvian farmer Marisol Medrano: The rainfall pattern has changed so much and is one of the causes for the appearance of plagues and diseases as 'red poncho' which affects our corn crops.
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Impact of global food price increases – Peruvian farmer Marisol Medrano: The rainfall pattern has changed so much and is one of the causes for the appearance of plagues and diseases as 'red poncho' which affects our corn crops.
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Tajikistan builder Zoirov Otakhon: I have a very difficult life. The flour price was 110 somoni ($23) last year - the same amount I earn from [selling] 600 bricks.
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Impact of global food price increases – Tajikistan builder Zoirov Otakhon: I have a very difficult life. The flour price was 110 somoni ($23) last year - the same amount I earn from [selling] 600 bricks.
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Iris Madrid from El Salvador: Things we cannot live without here are beans, eggs and cheese, which we still eat, but in smaller quantities.
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Impact of global food price increases – Iris Madrid from El Salvador: Things we cannot live without here are beans, eggs and cheese, which we still eat, but in smaller quantities.
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Islamabad street vendor Akram Masih: Food is so expensive that I skimp on the ingredients for my chickpea salad.
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Impact of global food price increases – Islamabad street vendor Akram Masih: Food is so expensive that I skimp on the ingredients for my chickpea salad.
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Pakistani grandmother Rabia Song: I go to three markets to do my shopping because prices are so competitive. A poor man barely survives.
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Impact of global food price increases – Pakistani grandmother Rabia Song: I go to three markets to do my shopping because prices are so competitive. A poor man barely survives.
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Story highlights

  • This year's severe weather events have led to low yields in grain exporting nations
  • Kansas prairie farmer Donn Teske says extreme weather events are becoming much more extreme
  • Aid group Oxfam believes there may be another spike in food prices in early 2013 and longer term volatility
  • Some countries like Nigeria are looking for alternative staple crops such as cassava
Sometimes Jaria Faraj Ali is so hungry that she ties a scarf tight around her waist to make her feel more comfortable.
The Yemeni mother of six told the international aid group Oxfam that she has now resorted to begging because food prices are so high and she doesn't have an income.
And in Pakistan, 28-year-old Asif Masih says he has to work at two jobs to buy enough food. "I drive a taxi part time as well as work in an office because otherwise me and my family won't be able to eat," he told CNN.
Their stories of hardship are echoed across the globe from Tajikistan to Peru where a recent spike in world food prices has hit the most vulnerable, and particularly in countries that rely on imported food.
Rising food prices have been blamed on a number of factors -- for example, rising energy costs, changing land use for biofuel production, local conflicts, and an increasing demand for meat and dairy products.
But 2012's severe weather events around the world have led to low yields in nations such as the U.S. that export grain. Oxfam fears climate change is responsible and that impoverished people could be facing a future of high food prices driven by extreme weather trends.