The FAO Food Price Index rose by nearly two per cent or four points from December to January– its first increase since July 2011

Global food demand could double by 2050, according to a new projection by David Tilman, Regents Professor of Ecology in the University of Minnesota’s College of Biological Sciences, and colleagues, including Jason Hill, assistant professor in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences.

Rice consumers worldwide can now look forward to eating “green” rice with the launch of an initiative that will set environmentally sustainable and socially responsible rice production management standards.

Food prices fell in December 2011 with the FAO Food Price Index dropping 2.4 per cent, or five points from November. At its new level of 211 points, the Index was 11.3 per cent (27 points) below its peak in February 2011.