No 'Staff of Life' to Lean On

Because it imports most of its food, the Middle East is especially vulnerable to changes in the food market. Middle Eastern countries with little access to oil wealth are feeling the pinch, and have seen the price of staple foods like bread and cooking oil skyrocket.

"Everyone here is talking about the perpetually rising prices," says Stephen Steinbeiser, in Catholic Relief Services' Jerusalem office. A February 2008 U.N. report says that the cost of the seven basic food items (wheat flour, rice, milk, sugar, olive oil, vegetable oil and chickpeas) increased by 82 percent in the West Bank, compared to February 2007.

In Egypt, the word for bread is aish, meaning "life." As prices rise, more and more Egyptians are unable to afford their daily bread. They stand in long lines for hours to buy government-subsidized bread, missing work or school to do so.

In many Middle Eastern countries, people have taken to the streets in protest over the price of food. The resulting violence and riots have led to injuries—and in one case, a death.

Learn how food prices are affecting countries in the Middle East where CRS works, including Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. All photos by Laura Sheahen/CRS