Global and US Food Prices Are Rising. What Is the Long Term Future of Prices?

Gary Becker and Richard Posner debate the long term future of commodity food prices. Becker thinks that much of the price rise is due to governmental regulations and policies (such as, in the US, ethanol, which takes corn out of food production), but that if prices have some freedom, food supply should increase in response to increase in prices. Farmers can always plant more and raise more. Posner agrees that food prices will increase, but that eventually supply will catch us with demand and they new equilibriums of low prices will be established. In wealthy countries; but, he argues, that poor countries will suffer greatly.