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April 25th, 2008
03:52 PM ET

Looming food crisis in Peru

Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Peru

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on assignment in Lima, Peru.  Watch his behind-the-scenes look at how the country is dealing with a looming food crisis.

How has the rising cost of food affected you?
Filed under: Dr. Sanjay Gupta • Food crisis • Peru
soundoff (8 Responses)
  1. Sotiris Koukios

    Hello to everyone participating in the interesting discussion. I have another tempting idea. WHy we are not start sharing information on food prices in our own countries. We would see a great variety of them? Why? Especially among products locally produced.
    In Greece more and more people complaining on food's prices. For example i went to the supermarket last saturday and i bought wth 3,25 euros (equal to 5 uS $ ....) bread, 1/2 litre of Coca Cola and 50gr of coffee. What that would cost to other countries in the world?
    I'm courious for your answers.

    May 4, 2008 at 5:43 pm |
  2. Bill Parker

    Er... great solution, Annie, unless–like me–you are violently allergic to mushrooms... One thing I learned long ago: don't "inform" other people that foods you like are "really good" or "delicious" etc. Everybody has different tastes. A lot of it is cultural. There are things they think are "delicious" in Asia that I would not eat if I were starving to death; I'd eat my arm first! Also, as with me, allergies have to be considered. Better to say "here is a recipe some might like." I'll bet if I kept telling you that candied buffalo dung "doesn't sound great but it is actually really good," you'd start getting very, very annoyed with me.

    April 27, 2008 at 9:49 pm |
  3. Josephina

    Dr. Gupta, what is scary to me is why the rise in rice prices? Why is the price of rice rising? Is this related to the price of oil? I think so. A lot of people that I've talked to think so too, and if it is, then the powers that control the price of crude oil are responsible to each and every death when people either starve, or riot for food. Seems to be pretty obvious that the Middle East (and other) oil barons, who already have become billionairres many times over by holding the world by the (can't use the word), now would have the world by the throat–literally. Are they deliberately trying to destabalize the world? And if so, what would they have to gain? These people aren't merchants–they're murderers, and worse, monsters.

    April 27, 2008 at 5:55 pm |
  4. John

    It's a surplus of human beings, not a shortage of food.

    As long as people insist on breeding without limit, there will be food shortages and the accompanying problems.

    April 27, 2008 at 3:10 pm |
  5. Martin Smith

    I live on my own but with $6 gas almost here in Canada, we're really feeling the pinch. I haven't eaten out for some time, don't smoke and only drink occassionally.

    I make slow cooker meals that can get 8 or 10 servings for under $10. I have two slow cookers and cook four slow cooker meals every 10 days or so. This works out to about $100 – $150 a month in groceries for one person. I bet I could easily feed a family of four for less than $500 a month.

    It's a throw back to my college days, but my freezer is always full. I freeze servings in individual meal size containers and just pull two out a day – one for lunch and one for dinner. A $35 investment in a slow cooker will pay for itself in a couple of weeks. I can make dinners that stand up to a dinner party for less than $10 for four people and will make everyone ask for the recipe. I'm not a professional chef by any standards.

    You can use cheap cuts of meat because you cook them slowly for a long period of time. Fresh fruit and veggies directly from the farmers market (cheaper and much better quality than the grocery store) or from fruit / veggie stands rounds up the budget cuts here.

    Pastas, Soups, and stews are the order of the day right now. They may not be glamorous, but they're cheap, wholesome, good food that will remind you of your grandma's cooking! I grow my own spices on my deck of my apartment, and fresh spices are better and cheaper than dried anyway.

    In WW 2 in Europe, they didn't have a lot of the basic foodstuffs and had to improvise for more than 5 years. Home gardens were everywhere – and your grandparents or great grandparents were experts at making a little go a long way. You should talk to them about saving money on food stuffs. They may sound like war stories to you, but trust me, you can learn a lot.

    Lastly, I would recommend to research what constitutes a single serving. Most people that are used to eating out in restaurants and now have to cook at home have absolutely no idea how much a single serving should be. The average restaurant meal in reality should serve 2 or 3 people – again, go to Europe and see the serving portions over there in restaurants for a more realistic outlook. People will need to change their eating habits in the reality of the current economy.

    Irish Soup Recipe (less than $10 for four servings).

    2 Leeks, Sliced
    8 White Potatoes, Cubed
    1 lb Bacon, Cut into 1 cm strips
    1 cup heavy cream (or half and half)
    4 cups chicken stock (you can use instant oxo etc).

    Boil potatoes in chicken stock until tender. Meanwhile, over medium heat, render bacon in a frying pan until crispy. Drain off all the fat except for about 1 tsp. Cook leeks in remaining bacon fat. When potatoes are tender, add leeks, bacon, and heavy cream to mixture. Bring to the boil slowly. Add parsley if desired. Serve immediately, or blend with a hand blender if a smooth consistency is desired.

    April 27, 2008 at 12:41 pm |
  6. Sussie

    end of the world...??

    April 26, 2008 at 1:49 pm |
  7. lavon k hummel

    I was checking out the blogs, and I ran accros this one ... I almost cryed when I saw that I was only the second person to address this issue.. All the other blogs are full. this is now a answer to my own Question ... Why do they report all this BS on the news . Cause thats what we generate by our own desires.. There are people going hungry. And all we can do is turn our heads. What Kind of county are we. I dont know how we must look to the rest of the world. Because were the ones starving. Starving for some sort of awakeing to what it means to be human not just Americans

    w

    April 26, 2008 at 2:56 am |
  8. Annie Kate

    Between food prices and gas prices we are really feeling the squeeze. We are eating a lot of meatless dinners which are probably better for us but it gets a little monotonous.. I'm worried too about our sources of fresh water – those seem to be drying up and the drought index seems to just go up. Hope someone can figure out a good solution to that.

    By the way, a good substitute for a hamburger is a mushroom burger- portabello mushrooms sauteed and put on a bun with your condiment of choice. I know it doesn't sound great but it is actually really good.

    Annie Kate
    Birmingham AL

    April 25, 2008 at 9:18 pm |

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