World food crisis hits home

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Such problems in the U.S. pale in comparison to what is happening in desperate countries.

The World Food Program says that rising food prices -- and a corresponding food shortage -- threaten 20 million of the planet's poorest children.

Food prices have risen 40 percent on average since mid-2007, and have led to riots in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.

At a summit in London on Tuesday, the executive director of the World Food Program said that a "silent tsunami" of hunger is sweeping the world's most desperate nations.

"What we are seeing now is affecting more people on every continent," Josette Sheeran told a news conference.

The price of rice has more than doubled in the past five weeks, she said.

The World Bank estimates food prices have risen by 83 percent in three years.

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